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Prison Ship Martyrs' 
Monument 
Association 




Dedication of 
the Monument 



And Other 
Proceedings 




Plloto by E. V. Foley. 

THE PRISON SHIP MARTYRS' MONUMENT. 



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Dedication of 
the Mo nument 



And 
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Proceedings 



Macgowan &■ Slipper, Printers and Stationers, 30 Beekman St., New York 






AHBoci&tioti 
MAK 1314 



Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument 

November 14th, 1908 
DEDICATORY CEREMONIES 



The Ceremonies attending the dedication of the Monument 
in Fort Greene Park, erected to the memory of the thousands 
who perished on the foul prison ships anchored in Wallabout 
Bay during the Revolutionary War, were made the charge of 
the following Committee; General Horatio C. King, Chairman, 
Hon. Charles E. Hughes, Governor of New York, Hon. S. V. 
White, President of the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument Associa- 
tion, Hon. Stephen M. Griswold, Society of Old Brooklynites, 
and John B. Creighton, Secretary. 

ORDER OF CEREMONIES. 

1. Music by 23rd Regiment Band, . .T. F. Shannon, Leader. 

Closing with the Star Spangled Banner, all standing. 

2. Prayer Rev. S. Parkes Cadman, D.D. 

3. Poem Thomas Walsh. 

4. Oration Hon. William H. Taft. 

5. Presentation of Monument on Behalf of the National 

Government by the Secretary of War, 

Hon. Luke E. Wright. 

6. Acceptance on Behalf of the State by the Governor, 

Hon. Charles E. Hughes. 

7. Acceptance on Behalf of the City by the Chairman of 

the Board of Aldermen .... Hon. Patrick F. McGowan. 

8. Address on Behalf of the Tammany Society or Colum- 

bian Order. . . . Hon. Daniel F. Cohalan, Grand Sachem 

9. Closing Prayer and Benediction, 

Rev. John L. Belford, D.D. 
10. Tribute, Salute and Taps, Union Prisoners of War, New 
York Association. 

3 



4 PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT 

The day was most unpropitious. A threatening storm with 
a cold easterly wind culminated at the hour for the literary exer- 
cises in sleet and snow. The parade was most striking, but 
much marred by the unfriendly elements. A description will 
be found at the close of this account. 

About two thousand spectators were congregated in the Grand 
Stand and it is estimated that forty thousand more braved the 
elements to witness the interesting ceremonies. The Old Brook- 
lynites, who have long been interested in the Memorial, seeking 
through Congress to secure the necessary appropriation, occu- 
pied a conspicuous place, and nearby were the members of the 
Martyrs Monument Society, the Daughters of the Revolution, 
the Daughters of the American Revolution, Little Men and 
Women of '76, and other patriotic organizations. The Tammany 
Society, which was the first body to make a practical effort in 
the collection of the exposed bones in Wallabout Bay and place 
them, in 1808, in a wooden tomb on Hudson Street, was repre- 
sented by several Grand Sachems, who with over two hundred 
members paraded. Among the unique features was a banner 
carried in the procession in 1808 by the Tammany Society, 
which was presented to the Monument Society by Mrs. Henry 
Young, of Riverhead, N. J. It bears this inscription: "Mor- 
tals Avaunt. 1150 Spirits of the Martyred Braves approach 
the tomb of Honor, of Glory, of Virtuous Patriots." 

The Veteran Corps of Artillery of the State of New York, in 
the picturesque uniform of a century ago, did guard duty at the 
Monument. This organization paraded on April 13, 1808, at 
the laying of the corner-stone of the tomb on Hudson Street, 
long since decayed, and removed when the bones were transferred 
to the tomb at the entrance of Fort Greene Park. 

After several musical selections, ending with the Star Span- 
gled Banner, admirably rendered by Shannon's Twenty-third 
Regiment Band, the Hon. Stephen V. White, President of the 
Monument Association, called the audience to order, and after 
briefly describing the movements which led up to the comple- 
tion of the Monument, presented the Chaplain of the day, who 
made the invocation. 

The prayer by the Rev. S. Parkes [Cadman, D.D., Pastor of 
the Central Congregational Church, was a most eloquent appeal, 
unfortunately not reported, but of which the Eagle said: " It 



PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT 5 

was strangely impressive to liear tiie English born and English 
bred clergyman pray eloquently and fervently on the subject 
of the Martyrs who had perished in British ships through British 
neglect and cruelty." 

Mr. White : 1 now have the great pleasure of presenting 
to you Mr. Thomas Walsh, a talented resident of our own Boro, 
as the Poet of the occasion. 

POEM. 

By Thomas Walsh, Esq. 

THE PRISON SHIPS. 

Not here the frenzied onslaught — here no roar 

Of victory — no raucous cry of hate 

From the red surge of war; 

Here crowd no Caesar's myrmidons of state 

Lest for some hasty-fading laurels he be late 

And night annul his place; 

But solemn is the tread of feet that come 

Around this hallowed mount — with drum 

Concordant — with the clarion 

Of youthful hearts that throb for deeds sublime — 

Here where no stain can e'er deface 

This columned beauty out of Parthenon, — 

This glory surging pure beyond the clouds of Time. 

Here our fortress hill 

Where Freedom's gathering vanguards took their stand, 

O sacred relics! — how serene ye lay, 

How patient for this day 

Whose rites we now fulfill! 

Thousands of dusks and dawns have trembled on 

These portals of your tomb; 

Ye heard the tread of discord shake this land. 

The trumpetings of doom; — 

Yea, through your sleep ye knew the orphan's cry, 

The broken hearts' far clamoring. 

And the pale heroes plucking deathless wreaths 

From fields o'ershadowed by the buzzard's wing! 

Oh, in what direful school 

Learned ye the iron rigor of the mind 

Your memory bequeaths? 

Was it in plague and famine ye did find 



PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT 

Such right divine to rule — 

Such hopes in God and man — that double stay 

Of commonwealths to-day? 

For here, the sponsors for all ages, 

Ye gave as solemn gages 

Not blood alone 

But very flesh and bone! 

Nor pledged ye only for the strong and brave. 

But for the generations yet unborn 

By every strand remote that greets the morn. 

For the pale despot shackled to his throne 

As for the serf and slave. 

O stalworth dreamers in the dust, 

That God who took your young hearts' trust. 

Your pangs, the issue of your patriots cause. 

Still sways the stars and souls of men 

With th' ancient seals and laws; 

Nor did He turn and mock your anguish when 

Ye cried His password through eternity 

And died in fetters so ye might be free. 

O martyrdom of hope! — to lie 

In youth and strength — and die 

'Mid rotting hulks that once by every sea 

And star swung carelessly — 

To die becalmed in war's black hell. 

Where in the noon's wide blaze your hearts could soar 

With gull and eagle by each cherished shore 

Of home — where ye had sworn to dwell 

The fathers of the free. 

Doom like to this the Lydian victim bore 

Who clutched at feasts divine — only to starve the more. 

Well might the blue skies and the breeze 

Which once perchance swept Delphi o'er. 

Well might the star-eyes question: — "What are these 

Heaped holocausts on Freedom's shrine? 

Not even the dullard ox unto our altars led 

Of old, but walked 'mid reverent throng 

Anoint and garlanded! 

What rite of hate or scorn of law divine 

Strikes down its victims here 

With not a funeral song 

Nor poor libation of a tear?" 

To-day give answer — ye, who 'mid the battle's roar 

Have known the rapture of a patriot's death, — 

Ye, who have seen the aureole trembling o'er 

Your brows as anguish clutched at Life's fond breath, — 

Blessed and radiant now! — look down 

In consecration of the solemn deed 



PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT 

Which here commemorates this iron breed 

Of martyrs nameless in the clay 

As the true heroes of our newer day — 

World heroes — patterned not on king and demi-god 

Of charioted splendor or of crown 

Blood-crusted — but on toilers in the sod, 

On reapers of the sea, on lovers of mankind. 

Whose bruised shoulders bear 

The lumbering wain of progress — all who share 

The crust and sorrows of our mortal lot — 

Lamps of the soul The Christ hath left behind 

To light the path whereon He faltered not. 

Yea, now the boom of guns, 

The scarlet bugles, faint from off the world! 

Lo, o'er the loftier brows of man, unfurled 

The purer banners of the dawning suns! 

Banners of God in godlike minds — of hope — 

Of faith, to daunt the crafty hordes of greed, 

The venomed remnant of the dragon's seed 

Along the gutters of the world! No more men grope 

Up life's black chasms — but free they swing along 

Their spacious levels in the noon's full flow'r 

And strike to earth the barricades of wrong. 

They have torn down the tyrants of an hour. — 

Think not that they shall hear the deeps of shame 

Foredoom them likewise with the despot's name; 

Nor doubt this glorious vessel of our state. 

This visioned bark, whereof in martyr dreams 

From death's grim hulks they caught the hal.\ard gleams, 

No feud can seize it, nor the grip of hate 

Turn back its prow into the slime 

For scorn to overwhelm 

With name so cursed on the lips of Time 

As "prison ship" for men who would be free! 

High God, Thy hand was on another helm 

When every tide and breeze 

Brought the hope-lighted argosies 

From out the ports of hunger and of wrong! 

And thou alone hast number kept 

Of that indomitable throng 

Who gained this harbor portal, 

From out their house of bondage crept 

And sought the north, the south, the west, — 

Armies of thrift and faith with hearts that blessed 

These graves immortal! 

To-day from far their Freedom-lighted brows 



PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT 

Turn hither musing on their happ\' prows 

That met the tides of sacred waters here 

And touched a lustral shore whose shrines unto the skies uprear. 

And ye, O sailors faring buoyant forth, 

Bear ye the tidings of this joy-swept main 

Where round the coasts of Celt or Dane 

Ye brave the sleet-mouthed north 

Or track the moon on some Sicilian wave 

Or lonely cape of Spain; 

Take ye the story of these comrades true 

Whose prison hulks sank here 

Where now such tides of men are poured 

As never surged o'er crag or fiord 

To stay the gulls with fear — 

Who yet such quest of glory knew 

As never Argonaut of old 

Seeking the shores of gold — 

As never knight from wound and vigil pale 

Tracing o'er subset worlds his Holy Grail! 

And lo! — to all the seas a pharos set 

in sign memorial! Through the gloom of Time 

'Twill teach a sacrifice of self, sublime 

O'er lash of storms as through corroding calms 

Nor e'er alone shall shine 

Its love-bright parapet; 

But every star shall bring a golden alms; — 

The seething harbor line 

Glow 'neath its star-fed hives, its swing and flare 

Of Bridges; — while with pilgrim lamps from sea 

Shall grope the dreadnought fieets; — while endless prayer 

Of dawns and sunset floods the faces far 

Uplifted, tear-stained to this Martyr shrine, — 

Whose sister torch shall greet what Liberty 

Holds back to God, — earth's brightest answering star. 



After music Mr. White, in introducing the President of the 
United States, referred in felicitous terms to his great popularity 
and thanked him for honoring this significant event with his 
presence. The falling snow and sleet suggested the precaution 
of the Speaker's not removing his hat, a suggestion endorsed by 
many voices and wisely adopted. 



PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT \) 

ORATION. 

BY HON. WILLIAM H. TAFT, 
President of the United States. 

Ladies and Gentlemen: 

We are met to-day to pay a nation's debt, long since recog- 
nized, but most tardily provided for. The Monument which we 
dedicate commemorates the sacrifice for their country of the 
lives of upward or 10,000 Americans, who were hurried, more 
than 125 years ago, into what seemed for years to be an in- 
glorious oblivion. They died because of the cruelty of their 
immediate custodians, and the neglect of those who higher in 
authority were responsible for their detention. They were 
the prisoners of King George the Third, captured in the war of 
the Revolution. Circumstances combined to make their fate 
harsh, cruel and sordid. Their identity and personality have 
not been preserved, and we who assemble in grateful recollection 
of their self-sacrifice are compelled to refer to them as the "un- 
known dead." 

The significance of this circumstance in itself is great, for it 
showed the lack of system and carelessness that attended the 
custody of the prisoners, and an indifference to their names and 
fate harmonizing completely with their physical treatment. 
We only know of the innumerable burials under insufficient soil, 
on the shores of Long Island where now is the Brooklyn Navy 
Yard, and our estimate of 10,000 is a mere estimate. 

The chief prison ship was the Jersey. There were other old 
hulks used as prison ships before the Jersey, notably the Whitby 
and Hope. There were ships called "hospital ships," which were 
supposed to offer a refuge for the sick of the regular prison ships. 
In all of them, however, there were the neglect and cruelty that 
led to a large percentage of deaths among the prisoners; but the 
details in respect to them can be gathered only from fugitive 
letters of the victims, and not from official sources. The British 
commanders generally denied the allegations made on behalf 
of the American prisoners from time to time, and with the close 
of the war, and the absence of any comprehensive investigation 
and report in respect to them, we are left to piece out the evi- 
dence as best we may and to explain the shocking percentage 



10 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 

of the dead that were gathered each day and given a hasty and 
insufficient burial. 

We have more information in respect to the Jersey hulk than 
in regard to any other, and enough to confirm in the strongest 
way the outrageous and indefensible cruelty with which the 
American prisoners were treated, resulting in the death of a 
large proportion of them, a death which is the more horrible as 
it proceeded from lingering disease and from the painful and un- 
successful struggle against conditions and environment, so 
frightful and distressing as to make the fate of the prisoners far 
worse than if, after their capture, they had been shot down 
regularly in files, or strung up on the yard arm as vicious male- 
factors. 

I do not wish to be understood as charging that these con- 
ditions were due to the premeditation of the English Com- 
manders-in-chief, or to the set purpose of anyone in authority 
having to do with the fate of the unfortunate men whose bravery 
and self sacrifice this Monument records. Such a charge would 
make the British commanders human monsters. The condi- 
tions were the result of neglect, not design. Let us review 
shortly the history of the prisoners on board the hulks of the 
Jersey and others in order to understand how results so revolting 
to every instinct of human nature could have come about. 

The city of New York, partly by reason of its geographical 
situation and in part because of its importance as a center of 
political and commercial affairs, became the headquarters of the 
British military command and administration in America, even 
before the British troops were withdrawn from the vicinity of 
Boston, and so continued during the entire period of the Re- 
volutionary War. Its importance from a military point of view 
will be better understood, perhaps, when I say that, save for the 
operations at Boston, Saratoga, and the campaigns in the 
Carolinas and Virginia, which were terminated in the Siege of 
Yorktown, the most important campaign and operations of the 
Revolution took place within one hundred miles of the city of 
New York. Some of these important and decisive events oc- 
curred almost within the shadow of the Monument which we 
to-day dedicate to the memory of the martyred dead. 

Not only was this metropolitan city the center of British 
command and administration, but other important military 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 11 

activities found here an appropriate field of action. As there 
were but few places in the States then composing the federation 
in which a firm military occupation had been established, and 
where prisoners of war captured on land and sea, from Boston 
to the Carolinas, were sent to New York, where, under the pro- 
tection of a powerful fleet, they could be safely and securely 
held. And to this fact may be directly attributed the concen- 
tration of such large numbers of prisoners of war at a single 
point, and, indirectly, the needless suffering they were called 
upon to undergo. 

In the treatment of the prisoners taken from the American 
forces by the British, the British commanders found themselves 
much embarrassed. Technically and actually, every prisoner 
taken was guilty of treason, and liable to prosecution for capital 
offence in the courts of the land. The British government was 
quite indisposed, as was natural, to recognize the belligerency of 
the American forces or to treat those who were captured as 
prisoners of war. They were afraid of committing themselves 
in some way to a recognition of the existence of a war as between 
two independent powers, and yet they were loth to treat all 
prisoners captured as punishable by death. 

The detention of prisoners without proceedings against them 
for treason in the regular courts made it possible for friends of 
the prisoners to apply for writs of habeas corpus, and thus em- 
barrass the commanding officers. Accordingly, Lord North, 
George the Third's Prime Minister, secured the passage of an act 
of Parliament whereby in the suppression of the rebellion of his 
Majesty's subjects in America, persons in arms might be detained 
without an examination into the legality of their detention 
under the process of the writ of habeas corpus, and in this way 
there was established a quasi status of prisoners of war as between 
the British forces and the American forces. Indeed, the status 
had been recognized before the passage of the act by the per- 
sonal arrangement between the commanding officers of the op- 
posing forces. 

There was nothing in the peculiar relations between a govern- 
ment and the forces of its rebellious subjects therefore which 
should have differentiated the treatment of the captives in such 
a way from that which ought to obtain under the rules of inter- 
national law in the case of war between independent nations. 



12 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 

The same embarrassing questions arose in our own Civil War, 
and were solved in much the same way. However loth we were 
to recognize the confederation internationally as an independent 
power, the extent of the rebellion, which made it one of the great- 
est wars of modern times, required for humanity's sake that all 
the rules applicable to the conduct of war between two indepen- 
dent nations should be observed in the war of the Rebellion; 
and it is not too much to say that in the war of the Rebellion 
there was substantially the same relations as between Great 
Britain and the forces of the Continental Congress. 

The lot of a prisoner of war at all times and under all cir- 
cumstances is one of constant and inevitable hardship. In 
ancient times the prisoner of war became the slave of his captor. 
The captured Roman forfeited his citizenship, which was but 
partly revived by the event of recapture. In the middle ages, 
and, indeed, down to the advent of Napoleon, death was per- 
haps the least of the horrors which were associated with the 
status of prisoners of war. Separated from his family and 
friends, deprived by the exigency of capture of the companion- 
ship of tent-mates and comrades, surrounded not only by strang- 
ers but by enemies, a captive without rights which his captor 
was bound to respect, it is impossible to conceive of a more hope- 
less, distressing and heart-breaking situation. 

In relatively recent times, the lot of the prisoner of war has been 
made the subject of amelioration, in cartels, treaties and con- 
ventions which define the rights of the captured and the duties 
of the captor. The personal safety of the prisoner of war is 
secured, his personal belongings and possessions are protected 
from capture and spoliation and offences against him are rigor- 
ously punished. The measures of restraint to which a captor 
may resort for the detention of prisoners cannot now take the 
character of punitive imprisonment. 

It must be a source of gratification to all of us to learn the 
provisions of The Hague convention with reference to the rights 
of prisoners of war as they are now understood by all the signa- 
tory powers to that convention, and to see that it is the duty of 
the capturing forces to make as ample provision for the prisoners 
of war as for their own men. A still more emphatic evidence of 
the progress that is made, and an earnest of what we may expect 
hereafter, is to be found in the treatment of prisoners of war in 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 13 

the late Russian-Japanese conflict, when both parties exceeded, 
in the tenderness and the care which they gave to the prisoners 
of the other, the requirements of The Hague convention. This 
great Memorial, which we dedicate to-day, the condition of 
things which it records and their contrast with present conditions, 
properly called to mind the human advance which has been made 
even in so cruel a thing as war. 

It should be said, however, that in the time of the Revolution 
and in the days of these prison ships the rights of the prisoners 
of war were by no means clearly defined, and the horrors to 
which those whose memory we celebrate to-day were subjected, 
could find a parallel in other wars of the same period. But the 
English commanders, and still more our own General Washing- 
ton, were anxious to recognize and carry out as far as possible 
the principles which 1 have already laid down governing the 
rights of the prisoners of war while in captivity. The difficulty 
was not in the theoretic statement of the obligations of the captor, 
but in their practical recognition and observance. 

In the arrangements for the exchange of prisoners between 
General Washington and the British commander, soldiers were 
exchanged for soldiers, private citizens for private citizens, and 
sailors for sailors. To the English and American forces the 
soldier was much more valuable than the sailor. It cost the 
Englishman far more to bring over soldiers and keep them in 
America than it did sailors, and it was much more difficult for 
the American authorities to secure soldiers of the line than it 
was to secure sailors, and especially those not sailors in the em- 
ploy of the Continental Congress, but merely in private employ 
upon vessels engaged as privateersmen under letters of marque 
and reprisal, who constituted the great majority of American 
sailors in the war. 

There was very little of the American Navy except so far as 
it was constituted by privateersmen, and it was easier among an 
adventurous people to secure the employ of sailors upon priva- 
teersmen who generally shared in the proceeds of prizes than it 
was to obtain enlisted men in the army; hence almost all the 
exchanges were of British soldiers on the one hand and soldiers 
of the Continental line or the State Militia on the other. While 
they were detained as prisoners of war, they were detained on 
land in prisons, where their fate was by no means a comfortable 



14 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 

one, they were not subjected to the cruelties of the prison ships. 
Men who were detained on the prison ships were generally those 
who had been captured by British vessels of war from the decks 
of American privateersmen. 

There were a great many British sailors captured by Ameri- 
can privateersmen, and had these captives been turned over to 
the Congressional Government for detention, they would have 
constituted a source from which exchanges might have been 
regularly effected and the men detained on the prison ships 
have been thus set at liberty. But the American privateersmen 
took no pains in this matter. They were frequently successful 
in inducing their British prisoners to engage themselves as 
American sailors in new privateering enterprises, or, if not, they 
took no care to turn them over to the regular commissary of 
prisoners and allowed them to go. The American Navy proper 
was not large or extensive enough to capture prisoners to be 
exchanged in any number, so the inmates of the prison ships had 
little opportunity for obtaining liberty through exchange. 

I pause here to allude to a charge made by the British against 
Washington and the American authorities in order to relieve 
themselves from the responsibility for the awful loss of life 
occurring in their prison hulks. They say, as is true, that the 
British authorities offered to exchange the prisoners detained in 
the prison hulks for British soldiers held by the American forces 
in American prisons and that this offer was declined. It was 
declined by Washington, first on the ground that he had no 
authority over naval prisoners. Later on it appears such an 
exchange might have been made by Washington had he desired 
to do so, but his position evidently was that he could not afford, 
in the interests of the cause for which he was fighting, to aid the 
British by giving back to them seasoned soldiers of the line to 
reinforce their army in America in exchange for men who had 
never had experience as soldiers at all, and who were nothing 
but the sailors of privateersmen. 

It is true that by so doing he would have been enabled to save 
the sufferings of his own countrymen who were detained in the 
prison hulks, and this shows clearly that the rights of those, 
whose memory we here recall with gratitude, were sacrificed to 
meet the exigencies of the country in the critical hour of her 
birth. But it was a balancing of Washington's obligations, and 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 15 

he felt it to be the higher^,duty to maintain that course which 
would weaken the enemy and ultimately drive him to peace, 
than to relieve the sulYerings of those of his unfortunate country- 
men, however terribly detained upon prison hulks. 

We must justify Washington in this conclusion, just exactly 
as we must justify Grant in refusing the exchange at a time in 
August, 1864, when the sufferings of Andersonville were held 
up before him as a reason for making such an exchange. But 
it was a critical moment in the history of the war, and he knew 
better than anyone else could how much of strength he was with- 
holding from the rebel army by refusing to give back to them 
the men who would fill up their ranks from northern prisons. 

What should be emphasized, however, is that the refusal of 
Washington and the American authorities to make the exchange 
proposed was not the slightest justification for the neglect and 
cruelty with which the prisoners of war upon the prison hulks 
were treated, and that Washington's mere failure to act and to 
accept the proposal of the British made in their own interest 
and for the betterment of their army was not the slightest excuse 
for their failure to heed his complaints and warnings against the 
treatment to which they were subjecting those confined to the 
prison ships. 

I may here notice one circumstance referred to by some of 
the historians, that of a certificate of a committee of American 
shipmasters under parole from the prison hulk Jersey, that the 
treatment received by the prisoners on board those hulks was 
all that could be expected, and that what they needed only was 
liberation and exchange. The circumstances under which this 
certificate was exacted by the English commissary of prisoners, 
David Sproat, were such as to deprive the certificate of any real 
evidential weight. This brings me to a consideration of the 
circumstances of the imprisonment. 

The prisoners were sailors. They were therefore turned over 
to the naval authorities, and not to the military authorities. 
The naval authorities used, as was natural, ships rather than 
dry land for detention. It meant a less number of sailors to 
be used as guards, and meant more economy in every way in 
the cost of custody. They took the old vessels which had ceased 
to be useful for war or transportation purposes. Such vessels 
were usually leaky, infested with vermin, and when their port- 



16 PRISON SIIJP MARTVKS' MONUMENT 

holes were boarded up to prevent escape, there was very little 
ventilation. The Jersey was a sixty-four gun ship and capable 
of carrying a crew of 400 persons. When dismantled and after 
offices had been assigned to the officers and crew in charge, 
there was left space under the upper decks into which 1,400 
miserable victims of the system were thrust, there to spend the 
nights in the summer in an intolerable heat and to suffer from 
cold in the winter. With only one surgeon, who did not appar- 
ently attend to his duties at all, with one cook, and with guards 
in charge all of whom resented the employment, it is not won- 
dered at that the poor prisoners were gradually subjected to 
greater and greater cruelty at the hands of their captors. Yel- 
low fever and small-pox were rife among the prisoners. The 
cleanliness of the vessel depended upon the energy of the prisoners 
as well as the severity of discipline by the guards, but how could 
cleanliness be expected when the whole 1,400 were affected with 
disease, and were dying at the rate of from five to ten a day? 
The filth and effluvia were horrible. 

It is hard to understand how men lived on from month to 
month, from year to year, in such a ftietid atmosphere. It is 
impossible to determine exactly who was responsible for the lack 
of food and the insufficient quality and quantity which was fur- 
nished. There is evidence that the orders were that two-thirds 
of the daily food furnished to British sailors was to be furnished 
to these prisoners, but it is certain that the bread and meat and 
dried vegetables which were furnished to these prisoners were 
so worm-eaten and rotten as to provide little sustenance. 

That these abuses arose probably from the fraud of the guards 
and immediate attendants is probable, but the officers in higher 
authority cannot escape the responsibility that is necessarily 
at their door for a failure to order constant inspection and to 
protect the human beings whose lives, as they must have known, 
were being sacrificed from day to day by the awful environment 
in which they were compelled to live. 

The dangers of infection and contagion from the pestholes 
which the vessels at once became, doubtless drove away in- 
spectors and persons of charitable intent who might have assisted 
the victims of this imprisonment. Indeed, the very cruelty and 
danger of the surroundings exposed the prisoners more and 
more to the absolute authority of the immediate attendants 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 17 

and guards, who themselves had to undergo the risk of living 
near and in the pesthouse and who justified their cupidity and 
dishonesty, doubtless, by the dangers which they themselves 
had to run. Thousands and thousands of the victims were 
buried on the shores of Wallabout Bay not more than 500 yards 
from the ship, and buried in such an insufficient way that the 
recurring tides disclosed their bodies to the air and washed their 
bones farther upon the shore. 

Finally, in 1783, this ship, which seems to have been used as 
a prison ship only for three years, was abandoned; those who 
had lived through the awful miseries were released and the 
ship was allowed to remain in its place until it fell apart and was 
destroyed by the elements. For years its frame and ribs at low 
tide could be seen to remind the onlooker of its terrible history. 
No complete list of those confined, no list of those who died sur- 
vives to enable us to identify its victims. We know this: The 
men there confined were Americans who had taken service on 
privateersmen to destroy British commerce and to hamper 
British operations upon the sea and who after their confinement 
were generally offered the opportunity of betraying their alle- 
giance to the cause of the Revolution, by enlisting in the British 
Navy and engaging in the suppression of the war against their 
own people. We know that they, with but very few exceptions, 
preferred the death which was present to them every day in their 
lives upon these prison ships, to the dishonor of deserting the 
cause of their country. 

Efforts have been made, from time to time, to put into per- 
manent form an expression of the gratitude of this Government 
and its people to those who thus offered up their lives rather 
than to be unfaithful to their country's cause. The Society of 
Tammany and others and the private association known as 
" The Ship Prison Martyrs Association," with Stephen V. White 
at its head, took the matter in hand with an energy and perse- 
verance worthy of the cause, finally secured governmental aid, 
and now a suitable testimonial has been reared in memory of 
these heroes and martyrs. The State of New York contributed 
$25,000, the city of New York $50,000, the Prison Ship Martyrs' 
Association $25,000 by private subscription and the Government 
of the United States $100,000. 

From the plans made by the architects, McKim, Mead and 



18 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument 

White, the work of construction has gone on under the direction 
of Colonel Marshall, now Chief of Engineers of the United States 
Army, and to-day this noble Memorial is dedicated as a reminder 
to living Americans of the gratitude due to the unknown sufferers 
in our country's cause and as an inspiration to future unselfish 
and unheralded sacrifice to maintain our institutions of liberty 
and civilization. 

General Luke E. Wright then made a brief address, in which 
he presented the Monument to the State and city. He said: 

The story of the experiences of the Martyrs honored by this 
shaft makes one of the darkest pages in the annals of the Re- 
volution. They met without complaint starvation and depriva- 
tion and suffered the most loathsome diseases rather than prove 
traitors to their country. The thing that makes a nation great 
is its men rather than its material resources, and such men as 
these helped to make our nation great. We are now about to 
pay a long delayed debt. When we consider how long the lapse 
of time between the incurring and the paying, we might truly 
say that republics are ungrateful, but it is a fact that the con- 
temporaries of men rarely do them justice. The remoter genera- 
tions have a broader perspective and are better able to do honor 
to the great deeds of those who have gone before. 

We have erected this Monument in tribute to the Martyrs 
who suffered for their country, and now. Governor Hughes, 1 
present to you as Governor of the State in which they suffered, 
and to you, Mr. McGowan, as representing the city which 
witnessed their sufferings, this Monument. 

Governor Hughes rose and bowed, and President McGowan 
also. Almost at the same moment a signal was given, the cord 
was drawn by Miss Esther King Norton, a granddaughter of 
General Horatio C. King, and the great banner of the Stars and 
Stripes which enshrouded the Monument began to fall away 
at the top. The grand urn surmounting the shaft was brought 
into view as the blue field and white stars that had hidden it 
dropped away. Slowly the flag came down. 

The people rose and men began to take off their hats. In a 
few seconds a great multitude of bare-headed men stood and 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 19 

watched the unveiling and paid no heed to the sleet that was 
beating down upon them. 

The Monument having been unveiled, Mr. White presented 
Governor Hughes, who accepted it on behalf of the State. 



ADDRESS BY GOVERNOR CHARLES E. HUGHES. 

Fellow Citizens: Fortunate are the people whose soil has 
been the scene of patriotic service and of heroic devotion to a 
noble cause. We cannot afford to be indifferent to examples of 
fortitude, or to lose by forgetfulness the stimulus of the lessons of 
sacrifice. 

We commemorate to-day not the deeds of great men or of 
those possessed of surpassing talent or extraordinary power. 
This is a Monument to the service and sacrifice of those whose 
chief distinction is not that of fortune or condition, or of superior 
position, talent or opportunity, but who revealed in deepest 
distress and in the agony of body and soul the qualities which 
dignify our common humanity. It was the plain man, the sim- 
ple patriot, who in the lowest depths of misery in the prison ship 
refused his freedom at the cost of his allegiance to the cause of 
liberty. 

Humanity has not changed its values. And it still reserves 
its highest honors for those who in the fire of affliction reveal 
the pure gold of unselfish loyalty to principle. And because this 
is, after all, the common sentiment and the sure reserve of our 
national strength, we face the future with confidence. 

This long delayed testimonial of our appreciation of the pa- 
triotic sufferings of the Martyrs of the prison ships is the result 
of a trinity of effort. It represents the co-operation of Nation, 
of State, and of private citizens. Thus it typifies the harmony 
of endeavor essential to the permanency of the benefits this 
early sacrifice aided to make possible. To-day we erect a Monu- 
ment not merely to the heroes of war, but to our own aspirations 
and to our own loftiest sentiments. We would ourselves be en- 
dowed with the indomitable spirit which flamed in the patriots 
of long ago; we would point our children to a Memorial of the 
victories of character; we would have the love of country a 
burning passion fired by noble memories, intensified by intelligent 



20 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 

appreciation of opportunity and obligation, and furnishing the 
motive power for the finer service of peace. 

And in this spirit and as a trust for this high purpose, on be- 
half of the State of New York, I accept this Monument. 

Mr. White: It is a pleasant office to introduce to you Presi- 
dent McGowan, who will accept this shaft on behalf of the city. 
Mr. McGowan said: 

ADDRESS OF HON. P. F. McGOWAN. 

Friends and fellow citizens: If lessons of stone and bronze 
are needed to remind the youth of our land of the heroism and 
fortitude of those who suffered and died to establish this Union 
and preserve it from disruption, they are not lacking in our city. 
They ornament our parks and public places, and patriotic 
societies and individuals have added their zeal and endeavor to 
governmental effort in perpetuating the achievements of those 
brave men and women who sacrificed life and property that we 
might enjoy the independence and liberty which exist in these 
United States to-day. 

Within a short distance from here, at the Brooklyn approach 
to the Williamsburg Bridge, stands a beautiful monument to 
the immortal Washington, erected through the generosity of one 
of Brooklyn's public-spirited citizens, Hon. James R. Howe, 
who devoted the fees of a public office to that patriotic purpose. 
The citizens of Brooklyn have also erected to the memory of the 
gallant General Slocum a splendid equestrian statue in honor of 
that brave military leader. 

Only a few months ago there was erected on Riverside Drive 
by our fellow citizens of German birth and extraction a splendid 
tribute to an adopted citizen-soldier, who fought bravely in the 
War of the Rebellion, General Franz Sigel. 

On the banks of the beautiful Hudson repose the mortal re- 
mains of the great Captain of the Civil War, General Grant, 
and thousands of people from all over the world annually make 
pilgrimages to that beautiful tomb to pay their tributes of respect 
and reverence. 

Time, however, will not permit me to call your attention to 
the many evidences of our gratitude and reverence which are 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 21 

spread over this city to impress upon the youth the lesson of 
patriotism and sacrifice which they are meant to convey. 

We are not met to-day to honor the memory of some great 
captain of our armies who marshaled his hosts to triumphant 
victory, nor are we here to honor those gallant privates who shed 
their blood upon the field of battle in obedience to the word of 
command. We are to pay tribute to the sad memory of thou- 
sands of American Revolutionary prisoners who suffered martyr- 
dom in condemned hulks used as prisons. Bad provisions and 
bad water, scanty rations and a complete lack of medical attend- 
ance brought about a condition where disease and misery reigned 
unassisted and unrelieved, and left behind one of the most ap- 
palling records in the annals of warfare. 

Thousands suffered and died whose names are unknown to 
their countrymen, and no tongue can adequately describe their 
sublime devotion to their country. 

One hundred years ago, thirty thousand people thronged the 
heights near the place of sepulture to pay their homage of rever- 
ence and respect to the remains of these patriot martyrs, who 
gasped for existence where life was full about them, and who 
perished of the fever and the plague when the breeze of health 
was fresh and strong. 

The civilized world stood aghast with horror at the terrible 
suffering of those who perished in the black hole of Calcutta, 
yet their tortures were brief and mercifully ended in a few hours, 
while the agonies of the Prison Ship Martyrs were spent in long 
drawn suffering and torture, over weeks and months of misery. 

When we recall the sacrifices of the men of that day who en- 
dured every privation and suffering in the camp, on the field of 
battle, in the hospital and the prison, to found this government, 
it is not asking too much of the citizens of to-day to safeguard and 
transmit, unimpaired, the liberty which it guarantees to those 
who are to follow us. 

Several years ago Congressman Fitzgerald, of Brooklyn, in- 
troduced the bill in Congress authorizing an appropriation for 
the erection of this tribute of our gratitude, and in his efforts to 
secure its passage was ably assisted by our present Mayor, who 
at that time was a member of the House. In that purpose the 
National Government, the State of New York and this city have 
blended harmoniously with the Monument Association. 



22 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument 

On behalf of the city of New York, I accept for her citizens 
this beautiful Monument dedicated to the pathetic and patriotic 
memory of the Prison Ship Martyrs of the Revolutionary War. 

Mr. White: To the Tammany Society great credit is due for 
their early efforts to collect and preserve the bones of the Martyrs. 
It is therefore with special pleasure and satisfaction that I now 
present to you Grand Sachem Cohalan of that ancient organiza- 
tion, whose Sachems and members, in considerable number, are 
with us to-day. 

ADDRESS BY HON. DANIEL F. COHALAN 

It is very proper that the Tammany Society should take part 
again to-day and pay a tribute to the Martyrs who lost their 
lives in the Revolutionary War. Organized by soldiers and sail- 
ors of the Revolution, the Tammany Society is one of the oldest 
patriotic societies in the world. 

It has always stood for patriotism, and in 1812 it came to 
Brooklyn, 1,200 strong, and threw up breastworks to help 
defend this place from a threatened invasion by the British. We 
are proud of the Society's record in the Mexican War, and 
proud of its record in the War of the Rebellion, when it organ- 
ized the Forty-second Regiment and sent it to the front, where 
in thirty-seven battles it won for itself renown. 

We are proud of what we have been able to do for the honoring 
of the Prison Ship Martyrs. In 1802 the Society memorialized 
Congress and called attention to the condition of the graves of 
the Martyrs and asked that a Monument should be erected. 
That prayer fell on cieaf ears, but in 1808 tried again and was 
successful. The Monument was built and dedicated by the 
Grand Sachem of Tammany Society. 

We hope that this shaft will stand for centuries to teach that 
patriotism is the highest virtue. 

Deputy Park Commissioner Michael J. Kennedy was intro- 
duced, to accept the Monument in behalf of the Park Depart- 
ment, and said: 

In behalf of the Park Department, it gives me great pleasure 
to assume the care of this magnificent Monument. 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 23 

The ceremonies were closed with a prayer by the Rev. John 
L. Belford, and a Tribute, Salute and Taps by Union Prisoners 
of War. 

The brilliant ceremonies were somewhat marred by the biting 
cold rain and sleet, but the great work had been dedicated and 
the people satisfied. The neglect of over a hundred years had 
been wiped out, and the beautiful shaft will stand as an object 
lesson to future generations and an assurance that while this 
Republic is sometimes slow in recognizing its obligations to its 
heroic defenders, it is not ungrateful. 



THE PARADE. 

(Brooklyn Eagle.) 



The Tammany Society formed part of the Veteran Associa- 
tions and Patriotic Societies Division. It marched directly 
behind the Old Guard of New York. 

The Old Guard also did itself credit in Brooklyn yesterday. It 
marched about one hundred strong. General Adolph L. Kline, 
formerly colonel of the Fourteenth Regiment, led the first com- 
pany of the organization. Other Brooklynites in the organiza- 
tion who marched yesterday were ex-Lieutenant A. W. Lindgren, 
formerly of the 14th Regiment, and Brevet Second Lieutenant 
Smith, formerly of the Thirteenth Regiment. 

Another veteran organization that showed up well was that of 
the Twenty-third Regiment under the command of General 
J. B. Frothingham. About a hundred ex-members of the 
Twenty-third Regiment paraded in its ranks. 

The regiment started from the junction of Division and Bed- 
ford avenues in the Eastern district sharply at 1 o'clock and the 
head of the column reached Fort Greene Park at seven minutes 
after 2 o'clock. The line of parade was along Bedford avenue 
to Lafayette avenue, to South Oxford street to DeKalb avenue 
to Raymond street, to Willoughby street, to St. Edward's street, 
and thence diagonally across the Plaza of the park to Myrtle 
avenue and lateral streets through which the parade disbanded. 

Major General Charles F. Roe, the grand marshal, and his 



24 PRISON SHIP MARTVKS' MONUMENT 

staff, escorted by squadrons A and C, deployed upon the Plaza 
and took up a position facing the grand stairway leading up to 
the Monument. Here General Roe reviewed the paracie, the 
marchers passing between the foot of the staircase and the caval- 
cade drawn up upon the grass among the trees of the Plaza. 

A steady stream of uniformed men flowed past the reviewing 
officer uninterruptedly for one hour and a half, the last organiza- 
tion not arriving opposite the reviewing officer until half after 
4 o'clock. Already the dedicatory ceremonies, of which Presi- 
dent-elect William H. Taft was the central figure, had com- 
menced. 

The parade was handled in a most efficient manner. It went 
off without a hitch and those who participated in it were enthusi- 
astic in tlieir praise of General Roe and his adjutant, Lieutenant 
Colonel Wingate of Brooklyn, who planned it. There was a 
notable absence of disagreeable waits and accidents. 

The regulars from Governors Island and the nearby coast 
defence fortifications had the right of line. They were under 
the command of Colonel William H. C. Bowen of the Twelfth 
Infantry and consisted of several companies of the Twelfth In- 
fantry of the Coast Artillery Corps and jackies and marines from 
the battleship New Hampshire and the Marine Barracks of the 
Brooklyn Navy Yard. The regulars of both the army and navy 
elicited applause and cheers all along the line of march for the 
precision and military bearing they displayed on the march. 
Many persons who were not aware that sailormen could also be 
horsemen were agreeably surprised at the equestrianism dis- 
played by the captain of the New Hampshire and his staff. 

Preceding the regulars were the two State cavalry squadrons 
which acted as an escort to the grand marshal. Squadron C 
had the right of line, although Squadron A should have had it 
by right of seniority. But Major Bridgeman of the latter, out 
of courtesy to Major De Bevoise and his troopers, because the 
parade was held in Brooklyn, yielded the honor to them. A 
feature of the escort detachment was the mounted band of the 
Manhattan squadron. 

Following the regulars came the total strength of the National 
Guard in Greater New York, under the command of Brigadier 
General George Moore Smith of the First Brigade. The First 
Signal Corps acted as the escort and was followed by the Twenty- 




MARTYRS' TOMB AT FORT GREENE. 1873 TO 1908. 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 25 

second Regiment of Engineers, under the command of Colonel 
Walter B. Hotchkin. 

Brigadier General David E. Austen, the newly-made Chief of 
Artillery of the State, came next with his staff. The coast artil- 
lery organizations of the State had the right of line yesterday, 
followed by the field artillery under the command of Major David 
Wilson. The Ninth C. A. provisional regiment had the place of 
honor in this division. Colonel Wlliam Morris was in command. 
The Eighth provisional regiment under Colonel Elmore F. Austin 
came second, and the Thirteenth of Brooklyn third. The lat- 
ter, for many years entitled to the right of line in all military 
parades held in this borough, is now the junior coast artillery 
organization in the State, its order of precedence being determined 
by the rank of its commanding officer. Colonel Charles O. Davis, 
the Colonel-elect, was in command. 

All of the coast artillery troops wore the olive-drab uniform, 
as neither the Eighth nor Ninth has yet received its quota of 
full dress uniforms from the quartermaster's department of the 
State. The Eighth and Ninth had to make shift with infantry 
overcoats as well, so that were it not for the red cap bands and 
red stripes on the trousers of the officers and the crossed cannon 
on the caps of the men, one would not distinguish them from 
infantrymen. The Thirteenth men, while faring better with 
regard to overcoats themselves, were not quite up to date. Ac- 
cording to the regular army regulations, the olive-drab overcoat 
has entirely superseded the old blue overcoat with the red-lined 
cape. Some day, however, the State will get around to the issu- 
ance of such garments. 

The uniformity of the officers' garb was often marred not only 
in the artillery branch of the service, but also in the infantry, 
by the presence of blue overcoats. While the Second Brigade 
staff was uniform in that all of its members from the General 
down wore the blue overcoat, it was not caparisoned according 
to the latest army fashion, which prescribed the olive-drab over- 
coat over the full-dress uniform. 

All three of the coast artillery provisional regiments, however, 
despite the defects of their uniforms, marched well. The Thir- 
teenth turned out about a thousand strong. Friends of Major 
George Washington Rodgers of the Third Battalion were grati- 
fied to learn that he had discarded his old white cob that used 



26 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument 

to be his favorite mount in the days when he was not quite so 
good a horseman as he is at present. The Major undoubtedly 
hung on to the old superannuated charger as long as he did for 
reasons of sentiment and out of consideration for old associations. 

The First Battery of Manhattan, under the command of Cap- 
tain John O'Ryan, led the field artillery forces of the State. 
The Second of Brooklyn came second and the Third of the Bronx 
brought up the rear. 

Then followed General Eddy and the Second Brigade, com- 
prising the Second Signal Corps, as an escort, and the three in- 
fantry regiments of Brooklyn, the Twenty-third, under the com- 
mand of Colonel W. A. Stokes; the Fourteenth, under the com- 
mand of Colonel John H. Foote, and the Forty-seventh, under 
the command of Colonel Henry C. Barthman. All three ac- 
quitted themselves well. The alignment of the Twenty-third 
and the Fourteenth was exceptionally well kept. The general 
effect of the Forty-seventh was marred by the presence of two 
officers without overcoats. Their full dress uniforms were the 
most conspicuous things about the column. 

In the Fourteenth, Lieutenant Colonel Garcia commanded the 
First Battalion, Major Libby the second, and Major Baldwin 
the third. Major Stevenson of the Third Battalion was unable 
to participate in the parade. 

The First Brigade of Manhattan came next. Colonel Daniel 
Appleton, accompanied by his staff, commanded. Immediately 
following the colonel's staff came the carriage of Rear Admiral 
Caspar F. Goodrich, commandant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. 
The admiral was accompanied by his personal aide. Lieutenant 
Bricker, and Almet F. Latson, president of the Union League 
Club. 

The Seventh Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant 
Colonel W. C. Fiale, occupied the right of line of the First 
Brigade. Then came the Sixty-ninth, under the command of 
Colonel Duffy, the Twelfth under the command of Colonel Dyer 
and the Seventy-first under the command of Colonel Bates. 
The Seventh and Seventy-first easily won the plaudits of the 
onlookers for the verve with which they marched. 

The First Naval Battalion, under the leadership of Comman- 
der Andrew Kalbas, and the Second Battalion, under the com- 
mand of Lieutenant Commander Ford, brought up the rear of 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 27 

the military portion of the parade. Then followed the Old 
Guard of New York the veterans of the Twenty-th.rd Reg" 
ment, three Grand Army posts, the Tammany Society and a 
delegation from the United Boys Brigade. ' 



Laying of the Corner Stone 

of tlie 

Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument 



Fort (ireene Park 
Brooklyn, New York City 

Saturday, October 26, 1907, 2.30 p.m. 

L'nder the auspices of the Prison Ship Martyrs" Monument Asso- 
ciation and the Society of Old Brooklynites. 

Honorable S. \ . White, President of the Association, Presiding. 

After a preliminary concert, from 2 to 2:30 P. M., by the 23rd 
Regiment Band, Thomas F. Shannon, Bandmaster, the Hon. 
S. V. White opened the meetino; as follows: 

Neighbors and Friends: The long deferred time has come 
when the citizens of America have assembled to do honor to the 
men who died that this country might be born. We will pro- 
ceed with the services, and I call upon the Rev. Dr. Newell 
Dwight Hillis for the divine invocation. 



PRAYER— REV. NEWELL DWIGHT HILLIS, D. D. 

O Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 
Our Fathers trusted in Thee and the\' were not ashamed. In 
all of our perils Thou wast a refuge: in our darkness a light; 
in time of perplexity a place of refuge, a succor and help. Yea, 
in all their journeys through the wilderness. Thy providence 
was unto them a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by 
night. 

28 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 20 

We recognize Thy benignant hand upon all Thy people, 
through all these years and generations. From Thee hath come 
every good upon this nation. From Thee the scholars have had 
their wisdom, the soldiers their valor, the judges their love of 
justice, the merchants the power to feed the State, the physicians 
the power to save and heal the State, and our educators the 
power to deliver and instruct the State. 

We thank Thee that Thou hast raised up good men, famous 
men of old, men of renown and distinction. 

And now, in this hour, we praise and bless Thy name, not alone 
for the prophets and the martyrs of the days of old, and of the 
early Christian Church, but for our own patriots, our brave 
soldiers that died giving their blood to feed the roots of the tree 
of liberty that the blossoms thereof might be crimson and 
beautiful for us and for our children. May their spirit of devo- 
tion to the great convictions never fade out from the hearts of 
our children. 

Bless Thou this wide land and all its rulers this day. Hold 
our people back from any form of evil, from the peril of over- 
ripe luxury and wealth, and from all folly and from all fear. 

And grant that to the end of time this Republic, with its 
family life, with its schools, with its homes and with its Churches 
may educate all the world in Liberty and free institutions. 

We renew our dedication to Thee of all that we are and of all 
that we have and of all that we hope to be, and implore Thy 
blessing upon us and upon our land, through Jesus Christ, our 
Lord, Amen. 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS— HON. S. V. WHITE. 

Mr. White reviewed at length the sufferings of the Martyrs 
who had died on the prison ships, and the work which had been 
done to commemorate their martyrdom with a Monument. In 
opening his remarks he graphically told of the fate of British 
soldiers in the Black Hole of Calcutta. He continued: 

We have no record of any one concrete act of hellishness in 
the treatment of prisoners which equaled this indescribable 
tragedy of Calcutta. But to the shame of the Anglo-Saxon race 
be it said, that for the six years in which the British forces held 



?,() PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument 

New York city, there were enacted continuously scenes of 
barbarism which in the aggregate, in comparison with that 
barbarism of India, was as the deluge of Deucalion to a Colorado 
cloudburst. 

The only available means of caring for them was to confine 
them on certain old hulks, for the most part cattle ships used in 
carrying supplies; which were so nearly worn out that they were 
no longer available for even that low grade of commerce, and the 
British anchored the hulks where the prisoners would not dare 
jump overboard and expose themselves to the double risk of 
bullets and drowning in the swift and swirling tide. 

I omit the names of the different ships and only emphasize 
the old Jersey, of which the prisoners knew enough of General 
Sherman's definition to stigmatise it as the " Old Hell." 

The fidelity of these men to their newly forming Country and 
to our established Nation is without a parallel in the history of 
the world. 

They were all the time offered rations and freedom in the open 
air, if they would enlist in George the Third's army for service 
in foreign wars, which would not compel them to fight against 
their own Country but would relieve other soldiers who would. 
There is a tradition that one man accepted the conditions, and 
while this is not entirely certain, it is entirely certain that there 
were not more than one or two at the most. 

Brave soldiers in what seemed a hopeless cause! Theirs was 
the bravery of Leonidas and his three hundred Spartan com- 
patriots at the Pass of Thermopylae. Theirs was the bravery 
of Arnold Winkelreid, when with bared bosom he monopolized 
a dozen Austrian spears and held that corner in spears unbroken 
till his Swiss comrades had swept through the defile and led 
Switzerland to liberty. 

To Elijah R. Kennedy, as President of the Monument Society, 
Mr. White gave the honor of laying the Cornerstone. With a 
silver trowel in hand he performed the solemn ceremony. In 
the center of the stone was placed a copper box containing coins 
of the present day and copies of the Brooklyn papers. As soon 
as Mr. Kennedy announced that the stone had been truly laid 
the band struck up " The Star Spangled Banner" and the 
Third Battery on the Plaza fired a national salute. 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 31 

Mr. White: It is with unfeigned pleasure that I introduce 
to you Major General Frederick D. Grant, son and living likeness 
of his noble father, who is here to speak in behalf of the United 
States. 

REMARKS OF GENERAL GRANT. 

The address of General Grant, who was the next speaker, 
was a glowing tribute to the men who had sacrificed their lives 
in the old Prison Ships. He praised the sentiments which in- 
spired the erection of the beautiful Monument, saying that in 
the heart of every true American the Monument inculcated a 
feeling of reverence, respect and admiration for the heroes who 
died for their country and whose deeds the shaft of granite would 
always keep alive in the minds of generations to come. He was 
frequently interrupted with applause. 

Sullivan's " Lost Chord" was played by the Band. Then 
Mr. White introduced Governor Hughes in felicitous terms. 
The reception which the Governor had was a fine tribute to his 
popularity. 



THE ADDRESS OF GOVERNOR HUGHES. 

Mr. Chairman and Fellow-Citizens: Gratefully though 
tardily the Nation, the State and the City, with the co-operation 
of private benevolence, have made this preparation for suitable 
recognition of the heroic sufferings of the Prison Ship Martyrs. 
We leave to-day our usual activities, and for a moment we strive 
to forget the anxieties that are incident to our unprecedented 
endeavors in order that we may fitly commemorate the work 
and death of those who humbly yet effectively played so import- 
ant a part in the laying of the foundations of this Republic. 

It is easy when the young student turns over the pages of Amer- 
ican history, for him first to learn of those calls of the pioneers 
of freedom, those eloquent appeals to patriotic sentiment which 
brought together the struggling colonies in an effective union to 
defend their rights against tyranny. As Curtis so eloquently 
said, " The voice of Patrick Henry from the mountain answered 
that of James Otis by the sea." Again the student reads of the 



ti2 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 

struggles of the Continental Army, the valor in the field, the 
sufferings in the camp, the indomitable spirit which made victory 
possible; and out of it all grows before his imagination a majestic 
figure of the ideal American, who, because of his force and res- 
olution, the charity and unselfishness of his work, because of 
the unfailing resources of his masterful strength, because of his 
dignity and his poise, has realized forever the American States- 
man, forever the Father of his Country. 

Little does the student read of those who unaided by the call 
to arms on the battlefield, uninspired by the cheers of comrades, 
unsustained by the appeals of Generals, none the less faithfully 
and devotedly, with that tenacity of character which was the 
most striking effect, the most striking illustration of American 
characteristics in the Revolutionary period, in agony of soul 
laid down their lives rather than forswear their new allegiance 
to liberty. 

And so to-day, without disparagement of great leadership, 
after too long delay we lay our wreath upon the graves of those 
who perhaps after all reached the highest summits of patriotism 
when in abject misery, without even the mercy of speedy death, 
they gave up their lives in the hulk of the old Jersey. 

This is a memorial to suffering. Were it nothing more it 
would be worthy of this ceremony. We, as Americans, strive 
to achieve. We seek every opportunity for individual distinc- 
tion and power. We measure strength too often by s'jccess 
and attainment. We must ever be recalled to our duty to 
humanity; and when the fount of American sympathy with 
suffering dries up the Republic will totter to its fall. 

Side by side with the American motto, " Achieve, Achieve, 
Achieve," must ever be written "Bear ye one anothers' burdens." 

And so to-day we come, regretful that we have so long for- 
gotten our partnership, to some extent, with the sufferings of 
these Martyrs. And let no man think that he fulfills his duty as 
a man, whatever his talent or whatever use he makes of magni- 
ficent American opportunity, when he does not learn joyfully 
to become a partner in the sufferings of the world. 

But this is more than a memorial of suffering. It is a memo- 
rial of devotion. Nothing has humanity's worship more than 
unselfish devotion to a cause, even though the cause itself may 
not have our entire sympathy. Character is not measured by 




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PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 33 

acquisition, but by sacrifice, and whenever we see a man giving 
himself unreservedly to a cause which he believes, there is that 
in our manhood which is so superior to all the temptations of 
civilization, which has made it possible for humanity again and 
again to rise up to the summit — there is that in our common 
manhood which recognizes that the man who gives his life for 
a cause in which he believes is above all kings and all rulers and 
all men who acquire wealth and every possible distinction of 
ambition. 

But, Fellow-Citizens, this was devotion to our cause, this 
was not devotion to superstition, this was not self-abnegation 
which was the result of some blind fault. Who were these blind 
Martyrs? They were New England lads largely, young men 
that went from home with the spirit of adventure and filled with 
zeal for liberty, and frequently in their very first efforts on their 
first voyage were captured and brought to this prison hell. We 
see them with hunger unappeased, with thirst unassuaged, in 
loathsome associations, waging remorseless conflict with disease, 
bearing their comrades, morning by morning, to graves on the 
beach and waiting their own turn, but, as 1 have said, with spirit 
unbroken. Those whom we revere were men who could have 
had their freedom at any moment had they been willing to take 
service for the British cause. These poor souls, crushed in a 
manner that no one injured on a battlefield and left there wounded 
to die, terrible as may have been his sufferings, could well imagine 
— those poor souls, even in their agony, held their celebration 
on the Fourth of July and laughed in the faces of their guards 
as they vowed that they would rather die than serve the King. 

Nothing that we can do can relieve their sufferings. The 
panegyric of epitaph, the adulation of eulogy do nothing to 
assist the hero to fortitude in his fall. This, Fellow-Citizens, 
we owe to ourselves. This, Fellow-Citizens, we do in order that 
we may preserve what they gave us, because we can never hold 
the liberties, our priceless possessions, unless we preserve inviol- 
ate that same spirit, that same readiness to sacrifice, that same 
devotion to ideals which conquers all thought of personal com- 
fort or of individual achievement, that same intense love of 
liberty and of our institutions which gave us the heroism of the 
Prison Martyrs, and which we to-day, newly inspired, should go 
forth to illustrate in the conduct of our every-day life. 



34 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument 

After the rendition of ITandel's Largo by the Band, a group of 
old soldiers, Union ex-prisoners of the Civil War, led by Comrade 
J. C. Kilgore, bearing laurel wreaths, a flag and a floral repre- 
sentation of the old prison ship Jersey, came forward and placed 
the floral piece on the corner-stone and as the name of each of 
the original States was called, a Veteran placed a wreath on the 
stone. Then these heroes of '61 to '65 loaded their guns with 
blank cartridges and fired a salute of three volleys. The Band 
struck up " My Country 'Tis of Thee," the audience standing 
and joining in the singing. 

The exercises were concluded with a Prayer and Benediction 
by the Rev. Father E. W. McCarty: 

Great God of Nations, we beseech Thee to bless the memories 
of them whose heroic dust makes sacred this place upon which 
we stand. We beg Thee to instill their spirit into all of us. 
Voices come to us from their graves reminding us of the prin- 
ciples for which they fought and suffered and died; individual 
liberty, reasonable equality, true fraternity, equal opportunity, 
fair play to every man, woman and child within the boundaries 
of our country. And, O God of Nations, we beg Thee to enable 
us to live true to these principles, and if. during the intervening 
years, we have swerved from the right line laid down by the 
heores who founded our Republic, then, O God, gently guide 
us back again, 

God save America! O God, help our legislators and our 
rulers to meet successfully the dangers that threaten our Re- 
public, not only in the present, but graver dangers that seem to 
threaten our existence in the future. Let it not be said, O God, 
that a Republic is impossible; that men cannot govern them- 
selves. 

We ask Thee, O God, to send the spirit of amity throughout 
our land. May the dove of peace build her nest in these United 
States and abide with us forever. But if, O God, it becomes 
unfortunately necessary to defend those rights which Thou 
hast given us, by resort to the cruelties of war, then ma\' there 
rise from every hill and from e\ery valley throughout the length 
and breadth of our great and glorious country, spirits that will 
rally round her standard like unto them whose memory we bless 
to-day. 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 35 

May the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy 
Ghost, descend upon us all and remain with us forever. Amen. 

TAPS were sounded and the vast audience dispersed. After 
more than one hundred years the United States, the State of 
New York and New York city had begun an imperishable shaft 
to the memory of the men who suffered and died that the Re- 
public might be established and perpetuated forever. 



Secretary's Report 

OF THE 

Obsecjuies of the Prison Ship Martyrs 

At Plymouth Church, Brooklyn 
JUNE 1(), 11)00 

hi January, 1900, in excavating for the foundations of a new 
building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the workmen uncovered 
the bones of a number of those who died upon the prison ships 
during the war of the Revolution and were interred upon the 
shores of Wallabout Bay. Immediately upon the announce- 
ment of this discovery by the daily press, the Secretary of the 
Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association wrote to Rear 
Admiral John W. Philip, then Commandant of the Yard, and 
received the following reply: 

Navy Yard, New York, January 25, 1900. 
Mrs. Horatio C. King: 

My Dear Madam: Replying to your note of yesterday 
would say that the few human bones found while excavating 
near the water front are in a box and will be cared for until 
the Commandant hears again from you. Without giving the 
subject much serious thought, it was my intention to cause 
them to be buried in the cemetery at the Naval Hospital. But 
now, as I said, I will retain them until 1 hear again from you. 

J. W. PHILIP. 

The excavations continued for some time and the bones, 
as they were exhumed, were reverently collected in temporary 
receptacles and stored in the ComFiiandant's office, awaiting the 
public obsequies under the auspices of the Monument Associa- 

36 



PRISON SHIP ArARTVRS' MONUMENT 37" 

tion, which were fixed for June 16, the day preceding the Anni- 
versary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, which fell on Sunday, in 
conjunction with Major-General John R. Brooke, commanding 
the Department of the East, Rear Admiral Philip, on behalf of 
the Navy, and Brigadier-General James McLeer, commanding 
the Second Brigade, National Guard of New York, a suitable 
military escort was provided. Hon. S. V. White, Hon. William 
B. Davenport and General Horatio C. King were appointed a 
committee of arrangements, and the last was designated as 
Grand Marshal. Colonel Edward E. Britton was selected by 
General King as Chief of Staff. 

At 2 P. M. on June 16, the special escort, composed of Battery 
N, Fifth United States Artillery, Captain Thomas Ridgway 
commanding, and a Battalion of United States Marines, Major 
Thomas Woods commanding, headed by the band of the Fifth 
Artillery, assembled in front of the Commandant's office in the 
Navy Yard. The remains, in seven heavy and handsome oak 
caskets, provided by the Monument Association, and constructed 
by Thomas T. Fisher, were placed in the several hearses by a 
detachment of United States sailors, and covered with American 
flags, the band playing a dirge. The procession moved at 2:30, 
followed by General Brooke and staff. Admiral Philip and staff, 
and other distinguished officers and civilians, in carriages, to 
Plymouth Church. Here, while the escort presented arms and 
the band played " Nearer My God to Thee," the caskets were 
carried into the church and placed in front of the pulpit. 

The church itself was profusely decorated with flags chiefly 
provided by Mrs. Horatio C. King. Across the whole front of 
the great organ was suspended a flag of the Revolution loaned 
by Mrs. Henry Sanger Snow, and on either side of the pulpit 
platform stood two handsome standards, one bearing the thirteen 
stars of the original States and the other the forty-five stars of 
the expanded Union, which, with numerous escutcheons, were 
especially ordered and provided by Mrs. S, V. White. Flowers, 
wreaths and grouped plants also decked the platform. 

As the remains were brought in, the " Dead March from 
Saul" was played by Mr. George Waring Stebbins, organist of 
the church, who with the quartette, Mrs. C. M. Harvey, Mrs. 
Helen S. Gue, Mr. George Leon Moore and Mr. A. M. Best, 
gave their services for the occasion. 



38' PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument 

At about 3 P. M. Honorable Elijah R. Kennedy, President 
of the Monument Association, Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis, D.D., 
the pastor of the church. General Brooke, Admiral Philip, 
Honorable John D. Long, Secretary of the Navy, General Stewart 
L. Woodford, Honorable Amos J. Cummings, M. C., Honorable 
E. M. Grout, President of the Borough of Brooklyn, Major- 
General Robert Dalton, Adjutant-General of Massachusetts, 
and Brigadier-General W. L. Stryker, Adjutant-General of New 
Jersey, entered and occupied the pulpit seats. In the immediate 
front pews were Major-General Daniel E. Sickles, U. S. A., 
Honorable Benjamin F. Tracy, ex-Secretary of the Navy, 
General McLeer and staff, Honorable Felix Campbell, and 
many members of the Monument Association, the Daughters 
of the Revolution, Daughters of the American Revolution and 
Society of Old Brooklynites. Every seat in the auditorium was 
filled. 

After the organ prelude, the meeting was called to order by 
President Elijah R. Kennedy. 

Mr. Kennedy: It is appropriate that a ceremony to com- 
memorate patriotism and martyrdom in the cause of a free 
country should be conducted in a place which is associated with 
the very ideas of civil and religious liberty, where such liberty 
has had its highest aspirations and its most eloquent and potent 
advocacy; and it is suitable for the solemnity of the place, as 
well as of the occasion, that the exercises should partake, in part, 
at least, of a religious character. We shall therefore first listen 
to the reading of the Holy Scripture by the pastor of this church, 
the Rev. Dr. Newell Dwight Hillis. 



SCRIPTURE READING. 

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 

Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her 
warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she 
hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. 

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness. Prepare ye the 
way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our 
God. 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 39 

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill 
shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and 
the rough places plain; 

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all the flesh 
shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. 

The voice said. Cry! And he said. What shall I cry? All 
flesh is grass, and all the godliness thereof is as the flower of the 
field; 

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the spirit of 
the Lord bloweth upon it; surely the people is grass. The grass 
withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall 
stand forever. 

Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown; 
yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth; and he shall 
blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall 
take them away as stubble. To whom then will ye liken me, or 
shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 

Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these 
things, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them 
all by name by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong 
in power; not one faileth. 

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the ever- 
lasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, 
fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of this 
understanding. 

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might, 
he increaseth strength. 

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men 
shall utterly fall; 

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; 
they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and 
not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint. 

And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell 
of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephtha; of 
David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets; 

Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteous- 
ness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. 

Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, 



40 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 

out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned 
to flight the armies of the aliens. 

Women received their dead raised to life again; and others 
were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain 
a better resurrection: 

And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, 
moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 

They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, 
were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins 
and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 

Of whom the world was not worthy: they wandered in deserts, 
and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 

In journeyings often, in perils of water, in'perils of robbers, 
in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in 
perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, 
in perils among false brethren; 

In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger 
and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, 
received not the promise: 

God having provided some better thing for us, that they with- 
out us should not be made perfect. 

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may 
have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates 
into the city. 

And there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and 
of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: 

And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their 
foreheads. 

And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, 
neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light; 
and they shall reign forever. 

May God bless the reading of His word. 

The quartet then sang the hymn 464 of the Plymouth Hymnal, 
commencing — 

Who are these in bright array. 
This innumerable throng ? 

At its close, Dr. Hillis offered the following prayer: 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 41 

PRAYER. 
By Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis, D.D. 

O Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst 
formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to ever- 
lasting Thou art God. Our fathers trusted in Thee; they trusted 
in Thee and were not afraid. In all their dangers Thou didst 
deliver them. In all hours of perplexity Thou didst lend them 
wisdom and guidance. In times of defeat Thou didst make the 
overthrow better victory. Thy providence was unto them a 
pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. And now 
we. Thy children, give Thee unfeigned praise and gratitude for 
the inheritance of the founders and fathers. Our times are in 
Thy hands. In Thy generous love Thou hast ordained that we 
should enjoy liberty, intelligence, opportunity. We thank Thee 
that we dwell in this fruitful land, beneath benignant skies, and 
that our happiness and freedom have been secured by institutions 
that represent truth and justice. And we desire to receive these 
institutions of the fathers as gifts divine. And we ask that Thou 
wouldst deepen within us the sense of fidelity to conviction, 
and lend us increased love of home and church and school, and 
all that makes the republic the teacher of the nations in free 
institutions. Grant that, to the end of time, our children and our 
children's children may be faithful to the memory of the fathers 
who loved justice, did mercy, and walked humbly before God. 

Eternal God, the author of all life, unchanged from age to age, 
we give Thee special gratitude this day for the memory of the 
heroes who once lived, but are not. In the discovery of these 
bones, as it were, those who were dead have risen up. Their 
very dust hath broken into voice, speaking of patriotism, courage, 
and fidelity to conviction. These are they who were honored in 
their generation, and were the glory of their times. They have 
left a name behind them that their praises might be reported. 
To-day we carry their bones to their resting place in peace and 
honor, and their names live forevermore. Deepen within us 
our admiration for their bravery, truth, their high sense of jus- 
tice and their unyielding fidelity. We feel that they have taken 
vows of us to love and serve our country. Ratify Thou, we 
beseech Thee, this covenant, the while we consecrate ourselves 



42 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument 

anew to the cause of liberty and to the institutions for which our 
fathers lived and died. And as the generations come and go, 
may the multitude that will wear deeply the path unto this 
tomb, read these inscriptions, and swear fidelity to the con- 
victions and principles of our founders and fathers, and of our 
God. 

Oh, Thou who art the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, send 
Thy blessings this day upon thy servant, the President of the 
United States, and upon all members of his cabinet, associated 
with him in positions of authority. May those who counsel with 
him be themselves taught of God. Grant Thy special favor 
upon Thy servant, the Secretary of the Navy, who this day 
represents our sailors upon the sea. Be gracious unto the soldier 
who represents our army. Oh, Thou who didst come to bring 
peace and not a sword, hasten the day when the sword shall be 
drawn only to smite oppression, cruelty and despotism. Bring 
in the era of peace, and of universal good will. Hold the people 
back from over-ripe prosperity, make the weak too strong to 
be oppressed, make the poor too wise to be led astray. Destroy 
selfishness, ignorance, fear and superstition; increase intelligence, 
justice and the sense of rectitude. May the lamp of liberty, 
lighted by our fathers, be fed by the children until its beacon 
fires, burning more and more brightly, shall lighten darkened 
lands beyond the sea. 

Thou who hast made of one people all nations of men who 
dwell upon the face of the earth, once more we pray "Thy kingdom 
come, and Thy will be done." This was our fathers' prayer, 
and still the era of peace on earth and good will toward men is 
delayed. How long. Oh Lord, how long? When shall the cry 
of the oppressed and the sound of wrath and strife die away 
upon the horizon? Even while we pray there comes to us from 
that ancient empire the battle cry, sounding the conflict. Grant, 
oh God, that if it be necessary that the plow-share of war shall 
pass through the soil, it may bury forever the evil seeds of 
ignorance, vice, superstition and tyranny. And sow deeply the 
good seed of wisdom, liberty and love. Hold the turbulent 
people back from conflict. Restrain hatred and anger and race 
prejudice. Increase the sense of brotherhood. Oh, for the time 
when brotherly love shall be universal, and the earth shall be 
filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 43 

great deep. Oh, for the era when men shall learn the might of 
meekness, and the strength of gentleness, and the omnipotence 
of sympathy and love. Hasten the time when the angel shall 
stand upon the sea, and lifting his trumpet, proclaim that the 
kingdoms of the earth have become the kingdoms of our Lord 
and of His Christ. Thy Kingdom come, and Thy will be done 
on Earth, as it is in Heaven. Amen. 

ANTHEM— "What Are These," Stainer 

Hallelujah! What are these that are arrayed in white robes, 
and whence came they? These are they which came out of great 
tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white 
in the blood of the Lamb. 

Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him 
day and night in His temple. They shall hunger no more, neither 
thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any 
heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall 
feed them, and shall lead them unto fountains of waters; and 
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. 

Mr. Kennedy: It is fortunate that at the moment when the 
remains of these nameless dead were discovered, where they were 
first interred by unfriendly hands, the United States govern- 
ment, on whose territory they were buried, was represented not 
only by one who had acquired distinction in the service at sea, 
but who had within him a heart and sentiments of appreciation 
for the heroism of these unknown martyrs — Rear Admiral John 
W. Philip, the Commandant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, who 
will now tell us of the discovery of these remains and of their 
reverent care and custody in his hands, until this moment. 



REMARKS OF REAR ADMIRAL PHILIP. 

As the representative of the Honorable the Secretary of the 
Navy, at the Navy Yard, but not here on this platform, or in 
this holy edifice, I was told a few moments ago that I should 
be asked to tell you how these sacred remains came into the 
possession of the authorities at the Navy Yard. Some months 
ago, last winter, in excavating for the foundation of a new 



•i4 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monumemt 

building that had been ordered to be erected by the Secretary 
of the Navy, the hallowed remains were found, as the sand was 
shoveled out for the excavation of this building. They were 
apparently buried naturally together; but there was nothing 
found around them, only the bones remained. They were 
collected by the naval authorities, and as they were accumulating 
tliere, the Secretary of this Society asked the Commandant to 
retain them in his custody until the Society could take charge of 
them. 

The sands on the beach of the Wallabout had been their cus- 
todian for nearly one hundred and twenty years, but being robbed 
of their charge by the naval authorities, and kept up to the present 
time in safety, I now turn them over to the custody of the 
Honorable the Secretary of the Navy. 

Mr. Kennedy: it is a peculiar honor that the Secretary of 
the Navy, so well known to the people of the entire country, 
whose voice has never advocated an unworthy purpose, but has 
often led in causes that have received the approbation of all 
patriotic citizens, has been willing to defer the pressing and 
accumulating duties of his position and to travel from the capital 
of the country here to Brooklyn, to perform the honorable 
service of transferring now the care of these remains to this 
city, where they are to find final interment. I have the honor 
to introduce to you the Honorable John D. Long, Secretary 
of the Navv. 



ADDRESS OF SECRETARY LONG. 

As the representative liere of the United States Navy I beg to 
express my appreciation of your courtesy in inviting me to a 
participation in these sad but inspiring ceremonies. These relics 
of dead heroes which the distinguished commandant of the 
Brooklyn Navy Yard has gathered, I now, so far as I may, transfer 
to the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association for their 
care. Let me express to them the obligation which the navy, 
as well as the whole country, are under to them for this patriotic 
work in which they are engaged. 
These men whose bones we bury to-day are of the navy of to-day. 



PRISON SKIP martyrs' MONUMENT 45 

III the best sense of the word there is no modern navy. The 
navy is not its organization, efficient as that is; it is not its Naval 
Academy, though that has become a modern university for the 
most complete naval education; it is not its ships, powerful and 
thoroughly equipped as they are; it is still its officers and men, 
as in the days of Paul Jones and Hull and Decatur and Farragut. 

The navy to-day, as it was at the first, and has been ever 
since, is a power and a glory because its officers and men are 
inspired by a high sense of duty and a lofty patriotism. As the 
man is not the body, but is the spirit which is in him, as life itself 
is not the physical form which you see, but is the divine spark 
which animates it; so the American Navy is the American heart 
and intelligence, whether on the mighty Oregon, with its enormous 
guns, its revolving turrets, and its hundreds of engines, a master 
piece of mechanical ingenuity, or on the poor old Bon Homme 
Richard, with its rotten timbers and its bursting carronades 
and swivels. It is still in either case victory — victory over the 
waves and over the enemy's batteries because a true hero is 
behind the guns and at the helm. The fashion of the ship, 
the enginery, the ordnance, may change, but the man is still 
the same. 

The naval heroes of to-day, who are the nation's pride, are 
one with these naval heroes whose martyred bones you so sacredly 
and tenderly preserve, and to whom you now do these deserved 
honors. We in this generation have seen men who died that 
their country might live. We honor to-day the men who died 
to give their country birth, and with it the birthright of freedom. 

Death for country in one position is as patriotic, though it 
be not so glorious, as death in another. These patriot martyrs 
who would not purchase even life at the cost of treason, who 
endured unutterable sufferings rather than betray their country's 
cause, and who, thousands in number, perished in those horrible 
prison ships, deserve that you make their memory eternal and 
that you write their story on a monument that shall tell it to 
this and succeeding generations. 

This occasion, therefore, these fitting ceremonies and this 
monument which you propose to erect, are the very education 
of patriotism. They are more than that. They are an education 
which shall train the American citizen for his duties and respon- 
sibilities. Education is not alone a matter of books and of the 



46 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument 

school room. It is a growth and culture which comes from the 
inspiration of noble deeds whenever enacted; from contact with 
great events reproduced; from association with noble ideas 
enforced by fitting symbols, and from the examples of brave 
heroic action impressed upon the public mind. It is in the very 
air we breathe; in the scenes and surroundings and things which 
we have put about us, and in the atmosphere which we create. 
You can hardly point to a man who has made his mark in the 
history of the United States whose education was not of this sort 
rather than of the school or of the college. What education in 
the ordinary sense of the word had Washington or Hamilton or 
Jackson or Lincoln? 

And yet what education, in the best sense of the word, did 
they not have in the enlivening inspirations of American life? 
The wonderful thing to me in this tremendous age of ours is the 
spirit of the time, the spirit of the republic, the spirit of develop- 
ment and growth for all, the spirit of patriotism, the spirit of 
intelligence universally diffused and tempered by the church, 
the school, the platform, the press and all the educating influences 
of modern life. While this spirit predominates there may be 
frictions, there may be convulsions, there will be sporadic instances 
of crime and fraud and evil; but an underlying, irresistible 
force is always and surely at work toward the accumulating as- 
surance of good morals, good citizenship and good government. 

When you shall have consummated your noble and patriotic 
work, in which God give you good speed, and for which you 
have the gratitude of the country, and especially of the Navy 
whom you so signally honor, you will lay the corner-stone not 
only of a monument to these patriotic martyrs, but of a university 
education for all the people now and hereafter of your great and 
noble c'ty. 

Julia Ward Howe's immortal "Battle Hymn of the Republic" 
was then sung, Mrs. Harvey singing the solo and the vast 
audience impressively joining in the refrain; after which Mr. 
Kennedy said: As often happens, those who have done the most 
to bring about a desired end make the least appearance in it, 
and it is so to-day. This is not the time to award praise to those 
who have organized this Association and carried it to this point; 
they are silent to-day. But for a voice to speak for this Society 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 47 

and for this city, who other should be chosen than that officer 
of the Prison Ship Martyrs' Association, that beloved and 
admired citizen of Brooklyn, General Stewart L. Woodford? 



ADDRESS OF GENERAL WOODFORD. 

My Countrymen: The Navy of the United States to-day 
commits to the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association 
the custody for final interment of these unknown remains. 
In the prison hulks in Wallabout Bay, from the disastrous 17th 
of August, when the battle of Long Island was lost, until the close 
of hostilities, all privateersmen captured by the British fleet, 
many soldiers of the Continental Army and many citizens, driven 
from their homes, were imprisoned. To the horrible number of 
11,000 they starved to death and their remains were flung into 
trenches rudely dug on the shore of the bay. 

It is an indictment against King George and his ministers 
which time can never efface. Let us reverently thank God 
that the spirit of Christian civilization has so far advanced, that 
the horrors of war have been so far mitigated, that when, sir 
[here General Woodford turned toward Secretary Long] under 
your administration of our Navy more than 1,300 Spanish sailors 
fell into your custody, you cared for them as you did for your own 
men, and humanity thanks you for it. 

When the hostilities of the Revolution closed, the few survivors 
of the prison ships were rescued and freed, but such was the 
condition of the chief among their floating prisons, the old Jersey, 
that she was left, without guard, to gradually sink as she might, 
and the waters of Wallabout Bay now cover her. To the care 
of a single citizen, John Jackson, we owe that the remains were 
gathered; to Benjamin Romaine, that temporary sepulcher 
was provided and the first move made for a suitable burial. 
To the Tammany Society of New York, we owe thanks for the 
first effort made to place above them a fitting monument. But 
as the years passed and that effort did not crystallize, new 
effort was made in 1873, when our city government provided 
the large tomb now upon Fort Greene in Washington Park. 
To that tomb to rest until the final judgment, we shall commit 
these remains to-day. We hope, nay more, we believe, that the 



48 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument 

present effort to secure a suitable monument will be successful. 
The city of New York has been authorized to contribute ^50,000. 
The State of New York will make contribution, and further- 
more we are assured that the nation itself is to act in marking 
the burial place of its first heroes, men who belonged to the 
thirteen original States. 

A liberal sum has already been contributed and is on deposit 
in a trust company of our city, and we believe, Mr. Secretary, 
that we shall succeed in suitably marking the spot where these 
heroes are to rest. 

Prolonged remarks after the scholarly and inspiring utterances 
of the Secretary of the Navy would be inappropriate; but this 
spot is eloquent with memory. Here as nowhere in our beloved 
Brooklyn, the spirit of liberty has breathed in the days that are 
gone, and the voice of our dead Prophet of Liberty still echoes 
within these walls. The ashes of our heroes are here and they 
speak to us as do the memories of this sacred place; and they 
are all uttering one lesson — the lesson of patriotism, the lesson 
of fidelity, the lesson of duty. God help you and me, God help 
our people to be worthy of what these men died for. They did 
more than die in battle. In the awful joy of conflict, when 
bayonets are flashing and the blood is tingling, men spring to 
struggle; but these men, without a flag above them, with no 
sounds of bugle or clarion, with no touch of comrade's elbow, 
these men walked into the most horrible of deaths, patient, 
calm, unwavering. They were bribed to leave their prison- 
house, if they would enter the service of the King. They spurned 
the bribe. They faced starvation. They died and became 
martyrs of liberty. God help us to keep that liberty. 

After the singing of "My Country, Tis of Thee," by the 
congregation. Dr. Hillis pronounced the benediction; the 
caskets were returned to the hearses, and the procession was 
re-formed in the following order: 

Fifth Artillery Band, Chief Musician Frederick Frank. 
Battery N, Fifth Artillery, Captain Thomas Ridgway. Ma- 
rine Band, Signor G. Savasta, Leader. Battalion Marines, 
Major Thos. Woods. Twenty-third Regiment Band, Thos. 
F. Shannon, Leader. Twenty-third Regiment, N. G., Major 
David K. Case, commanding. Troop C, National Guard, 




Photographed by E. F. Foley, from an old print in the Long Island Historical Society. 
THE FIRST MONUMENT. 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 49 

Captain Charles I. DeBevoise, commanding. St. Paul's Church 
Cadets, First Lieutenant W. Henry Allers, Jr., commanding; 
followed by the hearses and by the distinguished officers and 
civilians already named and members of the Association, Old 
Brooklynites and others in carriages. The route was along 
Hicks to Pierrepont, to Clinton, to Schermerhorn, to Lafayette 
Avenue, to Cumberland, to Myrtle and the Martyrs' Tomb 
in Fort Greene Park. Here the troops were massed in close 
column fronting a vast concourse of citizens who crowded the 
slopes and every available space, but in perfect order — a scene 
of unsurpassed beauty and long to be remembered. During 
the transfer of the caskets to the tomb, minute guns were fired 
by a platoon of the Third Battery, N. G. (Captain H. S. Rasquin) 
in charge of Lieutenant Chauncey Matlock, Jr. Before the 
entrance to the tomb a tablet with these words from the Scrip- 
tures, chosen and printed by Mrs. White, was placed: "Let 
us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begot us. The 
Lord hath wrought great glory by them through His great power 
from the beginning. Leaders of the people by their counsels 
and by their knowledge of learning meet for the people wise and 
eloquent in their instructions. All these were honored in their 
generations and were the glory of their time. There be of them 
that have left a name behind them that their praises might be 
reported. And some there be which have left no memorial, . . , 
but these were merciful men whose righteousness hath not been 
forgotten. Their bodies are buried in peace, but their name 
liveth forever. — Ecclesiasticus (Apocrypha), xlvi: 1-10." 

The flag on the staff in the Park and the flags on all the public 
edifices were placed at half-mast during the exercises, by direc- 
tion of Hon. James J. Kirwin, Deputy Commissioner of Public 
Buildings. 

The transfer having been completed. President Kennedy 
introduced Hon. Amos J. Cummings, M. C, who said: 



ADDRESS OF MR. CUMMINGS. 

Fellow Citizens: When these bones were ignominiously 
thrown into the trenches at the Wallabout, this was a nation 



50 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 

of 3,000,000 people. To-day 3,000,000 people live within sight 
of this tomb. These ashes represent the hopes and aspirations 
of a nation struggling for liberty; they perpetuate the prayers 
and the tears of the noble women of the Revolution. They 
recall the days of Ethan Allen at Ticonderoga; they bring to 
mind the blood of Warren sinking into the sod at Bunker Hill; 
they recall the days of Saratoga, the Brandywine, and the 
bloody footprints in the snow at Valley Forge; they memorialize 
the triumphs at Trenton and Princeton, and the death of Hugh 
Mercer; they bring back the dying words of De Kalb at Camden 
and the glorious death of Pulaski at Savannah; they recall the 
days of Light Horse Harry and of Mad Anthony Wayne; they 
render vivid the battle of King's Mountain, the defeat of Tarleton 
at Cowpens, and the crowning victory at Yorktown. They 
recall the fate of Nathan Hale, of Isaac Hayne and of the in- 
numerable heroes who gave up their lives for American freedom 
in the long ago. 

It is to the glory of Brooklyn and its citizens that she took 
the initiative in erecting a monument to the memory of these 
martyrs. It was high time that something was done. The very 
elements themselves had riveted the attention of the nation 
to their bones. Buried at low-water mark, the tide washed 
the sand from their skeletons, recalling their cruel sufferings 
and torture at the hands of the soldiers of King George. When 
the Tammany Society removed the remains and placed them 
in the terrace at the Navy Yard, the elements again spurred the 
nation to its duty. The bones were exposed by heavy rains 
and storms and were finally deposited here at Fort Greene, 
and the conscience of the nation has again been awakened. In 
the march of progress the uncoffined bones of 150 other martyrs 
have been unearthed. A third time Providence demands the 
action of Congress in the erection of a monument to the memory 
of the men who died the most horrible of deaths that the nation 
might live. 

Fitting was it that a lineal descendant of that noble Puritan 
Captain Myles Standish, Mrs. Stephen V. White, took a leading 
part in this movement. It was an inspiration that speaks 
volumes for the American character. The city of Brooklyn 
is striving to do its duty by these dead patriots. The city of 
New York is in no way backward, and the State authorities 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 51 

have voted a substantial sum toward the erection of this monu- 
ment. The government of the United States alone is laggard. 
These bones represent the soil of every one of the thirteen 
colonies. The Georgian sleeps here at the side of the Jersey- 
man; the bones of the Maryland line and of the Delaware 
regiment are mingled with the bones of those from Massachusetts 
and Connecticut. The dust of Virginia and of South Carolina 
is commingled with the dust of patriots from Pennsylvania 
and New York. The government of the United States ought to 
double these contributions. To be sure, these martyrs have a 
monument in themselves far more enduring than marble — the 
memory of their sufferings. A monument as high as Liberty 
Enlightening the World should be raised, for these were the men 
who lighted the torch with which Liberty has illumined the world. 

While in Congress I have tried to do my duty toward these 
fallen patriots. Four times have I reported from the Committee 
on Library a bill appropriating ^100,000 for the erection of this 
proposed monument. Twice has the bill been before the House 
for consideration. It met almost universal favor. Even that 
persistent objector, William S. Holman, favored the project. 
It was reserved, however, for a man from Texas to make the first 
objection to its consideration, despite the protest of the whole 
House. The bill was laid aside, but came up afterward in what 
was known as the morning hour. This was in the Fifty-third 
Congress. This same man from Texas, by filibustering and 
moving to adjourn and take recesses, wasted the time allotted 
for its consideration, and the bones were practically again left 
to the mercy of the elements. Then came a new Speaker of the 
House of Representatives. He formulated a rule by which no 
bill involving an appropriation of government money could 
come before the House in the regular order of business. 

For the last six years the only way in which this bill could 
secure consideration in the House of Representatives was 
through a special order emanating from the Committee on 
Rules. The Committee on Rules practically was one man, the 
Speaker of the House. He firmly set his face against its con- 
sideration. I take great joy, however, in telling this audience 
that I am convinced the new Speaker of the House will provide 
a special order at the next session, and that a monument — a 
true tribute to the patriotism represented by these decaying 



52 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument 

relics — will be raised so high above them that it can be seen from 
the Highland Lights to Stony Point, and one that will awaken 
the interest and admiration of every patriot and every visitor 
who enters the historic Harbor of New York. 

The caskets when deposited in the vault were profusely 
strewn with flowers by the ladies present. The tomb was then 
closed and three magnificent wreaths presented by the Associa- 
tion, the Daughters of the Revolution and the Daughters of the 
American Revolution were laid against it. The audience un- 
covered and Dr. Hillis read the committal service: 

And 1 heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me, Write, 
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth; 
yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; 
and their works do follow them. 

And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are 
these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came 
they? 

And I said unto him. Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto 
me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and 
have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of 
the lamb. 

And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their 
foreheads. 

And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, 
neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light; 
and they shall reign for ever and ever. 

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life; he 
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; 

And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. 
Believeth thou this? 

Earth to earth, dust to dust, ashes to ashes. 

All again united in singing "America," and amid most solemn 
stillness Dr. Hillis pronounced the benediction: 

And now may that God who brought again from the dead 
our Lord Jesus Christ, that great Shepherd of the sheep, make 
us all perfect in every good work to do his will, working in us 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 53 

that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen. 

The silence was broken by Bugler Dennis Hogan, who sounded 
"Taps," and the booming of the artillery, which closed the 
deeply impressive ceremonies with thirteen guns. 

From the inception to the close of these notable exercises, 
nothing occurred to mar the perfection of detail. 

The co-operation of the War and Navy Departments, the 
National Guard and its local officers, of Hon. George V. Brower, 
Commissioner of Parks, and Deputy Chief P. H. McLaughlin 
in the admirable police arrangements, are warmly acknowledged 
by the Association. Said a local paper: 

"Not a single feature of yesterday's ceremony failed to take 
place as planned. At the church, the exercises were conducted 
with precision; at the fort, they were brief; but at both places 
they were significant and appropriate. The military portion 
of the afternoon's arrangements surrounded the burial with a 
martial atmosphere distinctly in keeping with the nature of the 
ceremony." 



Fox's Story of the Jersey 

(From the Brooklyn Eagle.) 

And now, after many years of unselfish devotion and hard 
work, success is about to crown the efforts of the Association. 
When the shaft is raised in Fort Greene Park it will be an enduring 
monument to men whose names and memories should never be 
suffered to be forgotten. 

It is a matter of history that although most of the men con- 
fined on the prison ships might have obtained freedom by desert- 
ing the American cause and enlisting in the British service, the 
patriotic preferred to remain in their loathsome prisons rather 
than prove traitors to their country. 

In a general way Americans of to-day have a notion of the 
sacrifices these men made for their country, but few have any 
idea of the horrors of life aboard the old hulk of the Jersey, 
which swung lazily in the Wallabout, as grim a summons to 
abandon hope as Dante's "Inferno." 

In this muck-rake age, when the magazinists would have us 
believe that rascality is rampant and patriotism a dead and 
forgotten thing, it is well occasionally to retouch fading and 
vanishing portraits of the men of yesterday lest we forget what 
manner of persons they were, what they dared and what they 
endured. 

No one is so well fitted to tell of dangers passed or suffering 
endured as a survivor who writes while his impressions are still 
vivid, and from the account of Ebenezer Fox, who spent many 
weary months in the living deathhcuise of the Jersey, the following 
description is taken: 

"On Sunday, one pound of biscuit, one pound of pork and half 
a pint of peas; Monday, one pound of biscuit, one pint of oatmeal 
and two ounces of butter; Tuesday, one pound of biscuit and 
two pounds of salt beef; Wednesday, one and a half pounds of 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 55 

flour and two ounces of suet. Thursday was a repetition of Sun- 
day's fare, Friday of Monday's and Saturday of Tuesday's. 

"If this food had been of good quality and properly cooked 
it would have kept us comfortable, at least from suffering. 
But this was not the case. Our food was damaged. The bread 
was mouldy and filled with worms. It required considerable 
rapping upon the deck before the worms could be dislodged 
from their lurking places in the biscuit. 

"As for the pork, we were cheated out of it more than half 
the time, and when it was obtained, one would have judged 
from the motley hues, exhibiting as it did the consistency and 
appearance of variegated fancy soap, that it was the flesh of the 
porpoise or seahog and had been an inhabitant of the ocean 
rather than of the sty. But whatever doubts might arise res- 
pecting the genera or species of the beast, the flavor of the flesh 
was so unsavory that it would have been rejected as unfit even 
for the stuffing of Bologna sausages. 

"The peas were generally damaged, and from the imperfect 
manner in which they were cooked were about as indigestible 
as grape shot. The butter, the reader will not suppose was the 
real 'Goshen,' and had it not been for its adhesive properties, 
to retain together the particles of biscuit which had been so 
riddled by the worms as to lose all their attraction of cohesion, 
we should have considered it no desirable addition to our viands. 

"The flour and the oatmeal were often sour, and when the 
suet was mixed in it we should have considered it a blessing to 
be destitute of the sense of smelling before we admitted it into 
our mouths. It might be nosed half the length of the ship. 

"And last, though not the least, item among our staples in 
the eating line — our beef. The first view of it would excite an 
idea of veneration for its antiquity and not a little curiosity to 
ascertain to what kind of an animal it originally belonged. Its 
color was of dark mahogany and its solidity would have set the 
keen edge of a broad axe at defiance to cut across the grain, 
though, like oakum, it could be pulled into pieces one way in 
strings. A streak of fat in it would have been a phenomenon 
that would have brought all the prisoners together to see and 
admire. 

"It was so completely saturated with salt that after having 
been boiled in water taken from the sea it was found to be con- 



56 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument 

siderably freshened by the process. It was no uncommon thing 
to find it extremely tender, but then this peculiarity was not 
owing to its being a prime cut from a premium ox, but rather 
owing to its long keeping — the vicissitudes of heat and cold, 
of humidity and aridity it had experienced in the course of time; 
and of this disposition of tenderness we were duly apprised 
by the extraordinary fragrance it emitted before and after it 
was cooked. 

"Such was our food. But the quality of it was not all that we 
had reason to complain of. The way in which it was cooked was 
more injurious to our health than the quality, and in many 
cases laid the foundation of diseases that brought many a 
sufferer to his grave years after his liberation. The cooking for 
the prisoners was done in a great copper vessel that contained 
two or three hogsheads of water, set in brickwork. The form of 
it was square and it was divided into two compartments. In 
one of these peas and oatmeal were boiled in fresh water taken 
up from alongside of the ship. 

"The Jersey, from her size, and lying near the shore, was 
embedded in the mud, and I do not recollect having seen her 
afloat during the whole time I was a prisoner. All the filth that 
accumulated among upward of a thousand men was daily thrown 
overboard and would remain there till, carried away by the tide. 
The impurity of the water may be easily conceived, and in this 
water our meat was boiled. 

"It will be recollected, too, that the water was salt, which 
caused the inside of the copper to become corroded to such a 
degree that it was lined with a coat of verdigris. Meat thus 
cooked must be, in some degree, poisoned, and the effects of it 
were manifest in the cadaverous countenances of the emaciated 
beings who had remained on board for any length of time. 

"No vegetables were allowed us. Many times since, when I 
have seen in the country a large kettle of potatoes and pumpkins 
steaming over the fire to satisfy the appetites of a farmer's swine, 
I have thought of our destitute and starved condition and what 
a luxury we should have considered the contents of that kettle 
on board the Jersey. 

"Prisoners were confined in the two main decks below. The 
lowest dungeon was inhabited by those prisoners who were 
foreigners. Their treatment was more severe than that of the 



tize.r 



Th\!^ tr fl 



K.;r -sj 



>i BU>.^,^: 



Iea.1- ui' Jj 



Robe--' ^-^^ ■ ■ • 



VMI- 



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D'aviel Ga"rapbell Builderi.^ 



CORNER-STONE OF FIRST VAULT, ERECTED BY 
TAMMANY SOCIETY. 

In this vault the remains of the prison-ship martyrs were first interred. Tliis 
corner-stone is placed above the door of the crypt of the present monument. 



FKISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 57 

Americans The inhabitants were the most miserable and 
disgusting looking objects that can be conceived. Daily washing 
with salt water, together with their extreme emaciation, caused 
their skins to appear like dried parchment. 

"Mariy of them remained unwashed for weeks, their hair was 
long and matted, their beards were never cut, except occasionally 
with a pair of shears, which did not improve their comeliness 
though ,t might have added to their comfort. Their clothes 
were mere rags secured to their bodies in every way that in- 
genuity could devise." j y ^l 

It speaks well for the patriotism of the men of to-day that 
more than a century after the close of the Revolution, such a 
monument IS to be reared to the memory of men whose very 
names are in most cases forgotten. 



The Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument 
Association 

From Its Inauiruration to the Present 



On January 19th, 1898, at the instance of the Long Island 
Chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution, and by their 
invitation, members of the various patriotic societies met at the 
house of Mrs. H. S. Snow, then President of the Chapter, to 
consider the advisability of forming an association, uniting 
the separate funds already held by the Long Island Society, 
Daughters of the Revolution, and that of Fort Greene Chapter. 
Daughters of the American Revolution, and working on broader 
lines likely to secure public appropriations. Another meeting 
was held at the same place February 16th, when it was re- 
solved to form such an association. A temporary chairman. 
General A. C. Barnes, and a temporary secretary, Mrs. Horatio 
C. King, were chosen and were asked to call a special meeting 
the following month. March 23rd many prominent citizens 
responded and the association was established. The officers 
elected were: President, Elijah R. Kennedy; Vice-President, 
Mrs. S. V. White; Treasurer, Felix Campbell; Secretary, Mrs. 
H. C. King. Articles of association were proposed and accepted. 
The first regular meeting of the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument 
Association was held at 46 Willow Street, the house of the Sec- 
retary, May 27th, 1898, where nine trustees were elected, viz: 
Hon. William Berri, Hon. Cornelius N. Bliss, Hon. William B. 
Davenport, Hon. Henry E. Howland, Hon. Rosweli P. Flower, 
Mrs. Daniel Manning, Mrs. Henry S. Snow, Hon. S. V. White 
and Hon. Stewart L. Woodford. By-laws were adopted and the 
first annual meeting of the Association was held on the fourth 
Thursday of March (the 23rd), 1899, at the residence of the 
Secretary. The Spanish War absorbed interest during that year. 
This being gloriously settled, patriotism was rekindled and the 

r,8 



PRISON SIIIl' martyrs' MONUMENT 59 

work for this monument was taken up with renewed zeal. The 
Secretary reported that the two funds already raised for the 
object, that of the Society of the Daughters of the Revolution, 
$6,216.29, and that of Fort Greene Chapter, Daughters of the 
American Revolution, $3,578.68, had been deposited in the 
People's Trust Company by the late Hon. Felix Campbell, 
treasurer. The same officers and trustees were then re-elected. 

In 1900 fresh impetus was given to the work by the finding of 
many more bones of the prison ship martyrs at the Navy Yard, 
while digging the foundation of building No. 33 at the Navy 
Yard, near Little Street. The Secretary immediately com- 
municated with Admiral Philip, then commandant of the Yard, 
and requested him to care for the bones and allow the Association 
to have them buried with those of their comrades in the tomb 
at Fort Greene. Admiral Philip most courteously complied with 
this request. 

On June 16th, with appropriate ceremonies and military honors, 
in presence of representatives of other States, with the flag for 
which they died covering the six handsome caskets constructed 
by Fisher, containing their remains, they were carried up the 
aisle on the shoulders of sailors of the United States Navy and 
placed side by side beneath the pulpit of Plymouth Church. 
Religious services were conducted by the Pastor, Rev. Newell 
Dwight Hillis, D.D., and addresses were made by Admiral 
Philip, Hon. John D. Long, Secretary of the Navy, Hon. 
Stewart, L. Woodford and Hon. Amos J. Cummings. At the 
close the remains were conveyed in hearses to Fort Greene 
Park, preceded by United States Regulars and Sailors, the 
Twenty-third Regiment and Troop C, New York National Guard, 
and were led by the Marine Band playing hymns and dirges. 
The officers and trustees of the society and distinguished guests 
followed in carriages. The Grand Marshal was General Horatio 
C. King. As stated by the Eagle of the day, "Not a single feature 
of yesterday's ceremony failed to take place as planned." 

At the tomb a most impressive scene was presented. Sur- 
rounding the enclosure on all sides were thousands of spectators. 
The sailors bore the caskets on their shoulders to the door of the 
tomb and Dr. Hillis read the committal service. After singing 
"Nearer my God to Thee," each casket was reverently placed 
within. The bugle sounded taps and the guns boomed a parting 



t>0 PRISON' SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 

salute to the soldiers and sailors of a century ago whose noble 
sacrifices were now honored and commemorated. 

In 1901 Hon. S. V. White was elected President of the As- 
sociation, Stephen M. Griswold trustee, and Hon. Augustus 
Van Wyck and General H. C. King counsel. 

In 1902 the popular and efficient Treasurer, Felix Campbell, 
died and Edward Johnson, president of the People's Trust Com- 
pany, was chosen to fill the vacancy. He served faithfully 
until his death in 1906, when Charles A. Boody, his successor 
in the Trust Company, took his place. Hon. Elijah R. Kennedy 
was elected trustee. Strenuous and successful effort was made 
this year to raise the amount lacking of the $25,000 necessary 
to make up the $200,000 when the Fecieral. State and City 
appropriations might be granted. 

In 1903 General King was appointed sole counsel. It was re- 
solved at a special meeting to incorporate the Association, and the 
incorporation was effected May 4th, 1903, with the following 
directors: Hon. Cornelius N. Bliss, Hon. William Berri, Mr. 
Charles T. Barney, Jr., Robert D. Benedict, Hon. William B. 
Davenport, Hon. S. M. Griswold, General Thomas H. Hub- 
bard, Hon. Edward Johnson, Hon. Elijah R. Kennedy, General 
Horatio C. King, Mrs. Horatio C. King, Mr. William G. Low, 
Hon. Thomas C. Piatt, Mr. Walter S. Logan, Mrs. Anna B. 
Snow, Hon. Stephen V. White, Mrs. Stephen V. White, and 
General Stewart L. Woodford. 

In June, 1903, the following officers were elected: President. 
Hon. Stephen V. White; First Vice-President. Hon. Elijah R. 
Kennedy; Second Vice-President, Mrs. E. M. C. White; Sec- 
retary, Mrs. Esther Howard King; Treasurer, Edward Johnson; 
and Counsel, General Horatio C. King. Upon the death of 
Mrs. White, her daughter, Mrs. Jennie White Hopkins, was 
chosen Second Vice-President in her stead; and upon the death 
of Edward Johnson, Mr. Charles A. Boody was chosen Treasurer 
to fill the vacancy. Prior to the dedication of the monument, 
the following directors died: Mrs. White, C. T. Barney, Edward 
Johnson and Walter S. Logan. Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis, D.D., 
Hon. James R. Howe, Charles A. Boody and Mrs. Jennie White 
Hopkins were elected directors. With the exception of those 
named as deceased, the officers and directors in office at the 
dedication were as above set forth. 



I'RJSON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 61 

Efforts were increased to raise more money. Contributions 
were made through all of the directors until the sum of ^27,000 
was deposited with the Treasurer. 

No history of this Association would be complete without 
special mention of the tireless devotion of the late Vice-President 
Eliza M. C. White, who from the beginning of this movement 
until her death made it her dearest wish to see the monument 
completed. She raised personally a great deal of money and in 
every possible way furthered and helped the object. Her 
friends rejoice in the accomplishment of the great work to-day, 
and hope that, although she is absent in the body, she views 
it all with sublime feelings of satisfaction from above. 

During all these years Hon. S. V. White had been indefatigable 
in pushing the bill before Congress, the Legislature and the city. 
He gave his time and money liberally, and had the satisfaction 
of seeing his efforts crowned with success. The State bills, which 
were engineered by General King, were signed by Theodore 
Roosevelt as Governor and the Federal bill by him as President. 

Now that the $200,000 were actually available, it was time to 
consider plans for the monument. Accordingly, Mr. White ap- 
pointed a committee, consisting of General Stewart L. Wood- 
ford, Hon. Elijah R. Kennedy, Hon. S. V. White, Mr. Robert 
D. Benedict and Mrs. Horatio C. King. Mr. Benedict was 
elected chairman and Mrs. King secretary. 

They decided to secure the services of three firms of architects, 
viz: McKim, Mead and White, Lord and Hewlett, Mr. Woodruff 
Leeming, and Carrere and Hastings, who submitted designs. A 
jury of three expert artists were selected — Messrs. St. Gaudens, 
Henry Bacon and Warren Whitney. On February 3d a decision 
was rendered, and on February 5th the committee met at the 
house of the secretary, where the jury's award was made known. 

The committee and directors convened at the house of Elijah 
R. Kennedy on February 8th, where the designs were exhibited. 
That recommended by the jury, that of Messrs. McKim, Mead 
and White, was formally accepted. The successful firm were 
made the architects in charge of construction of the monument 
under the direction of the Government and a commission of four, 
the Secretary of War, William H. Taft; the Governor of New 
York, Charles E. Hughes; the Mayor of the city, George B. 
McClellan; and the President of the Association, S. V. White. 



62 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument 

This is, in brief, a summary of a year's work of the Commission; 
on plans, of many meetings, extensive correspondence and visits 
to officials. It would seem that now the money was raised and 
the design selected, all would go smoothly on and the monument 
soon be built, but there was still much to be done by the Com- 
mission, working first under the Government's engineer, Col. 
McKenzie, and afterward under Col. Marshall. The site had to 
be surveyed and was graded and changed. Numerous dif- 
ficulties appeared to prevent a speedy conclusion, but finally, 
on October 26th, 1907, the cornerstone was laid with impressive 
ceremonies in the presence of a vast assemblage of patriotic men 
and women. Governor Hughes made a brilliant address after 
President White had given a sketch of the work of the past 
nine years. General Fred D. Grant also spoke, patriotic 
songs were sung and all eyes were gladdened to see the begin- 
ning of the end of our dreams. The work progressed under the 
P.J. Carlin Construction Company, and to-day the stately column 
rears itself to proclaim to the world that republics are not un- 
grateful, even though sometimes slow to put their deepest sen- 
timents of patriotism into imperishable form. The marvelous 
bravery with which these men of long ago suffered and died 
rather than betray their country is now and forever proclaimed, 
and so long as time shall last this shaft will be an object lesson 
to the men and the women and the vouth of America. 




PhototiraplcPd by K. K. Kolc.x-. from an old print in tin: Long Island Historical Society, 

SHOWING CONDITION OF MONUMENT CAUSED BY 
GRADING OF HUDSON AVENUE. 



Society of Old Brooklynites 

In the foregoing recital it will be observed that it is the history 
of the project since the organization of the Long Island Chapter 
of the Daughters of the Revolution and the Daughters of the 
American Revolution, followed by the concentration of the 
members into the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association, 
which then made it its incessant work to bring the purpose of 
commemorating the Martyrs to a successful conclusion. It must 
not be overlooked, however, that from the organization of the 
Society of Old Brooklynites, it had directed its efforts toward 
the same noble object and at considerable expense had secured 
through one of its members from the archives in London a partial 
list of the names of the unfortunate prisoners on the prison ships. 
The list was printed and although incomplete has proved a very 
valuable assistance in informing the descendants of those who 
were confined or died on the hulks. At every new Congress a 
bill has been regularly introduced by a representative from 
Brooklyn, authorizing the appropriation of $100,000. Every 
time it had been captiously objected to by a member who regarded 
the erection of the monument as a purely local affair and the bill 
defeated. It was not until the Daughters and the Monument 
Association made it their special duty to collect funds by private 
subscriptions and had raised $27,000, that the Association was 
prepared to go before Congress for its assistance. Mr. White took 
this under his special charge, and having the privilege of the floor, 
as an ex-member of Congress, he was able to explain everything 
in detail and thus secured the passage of a bill appropriating 
$100,000, conditional upon the raising of another $100,000. In 
this he had the assistance of the Hon. John J. Fitzgerald, then 
and now the representative of the First District in Brooklyn. 
Appropriations of $25,000 by the State and $50,000 by the city 
were secured chiefly through the joint efforts of Mr. White and 
General King. Of the $25,000 privately subscribed, the Old 
Brooklynites contributed $1,000 as did also the Tammany Society 
and there were besides individual contributions from a number 
of their members. 

63 



Officers 

OF THE 

Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association 

Of the United States 
1913 

President. 
HON. ELIJAH R. KENNEDY. 

First Vice-President. 
GEN. HORATIO C. KING. 

Second Vice-President. 
MRS. JENNIE WHITE HOPKINS. 

Treasurer. 
CHARLES A. BOODY. 

Secretary. 
MRS. HORATIo" C. KING. 

Counsel. 
HON. WILLIAM B. DAVENPORT. 



Directors. 
Hon. William Berri. Mrs. Jennie W. Hopkins. 

Col. William C. Beecher. Hon. James R. Howe. 

Charles A. Boody. Hon. Elijah R. Kennedy. 

Hon. William B. Davenport. Gen. Horatio C. King, LL.D. 
Morris U. Ely. Mrs. Esther H. King. 

Hon. Stephen M. Griswold. Hon. John Hill Morgan. 

Onn-i F. Hibbard. John S. McKeon. 

Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis. D.D. Charles L. Schenk. 
Gen. Thomas H. Hubbard. Mrs. Anna Brooks Snow. 



ft4 



Articles of Association 

OF THE 

Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association 

Of the United States 



ARTICLE I. 

Name. 

There is hereby formed a voluntary Association to be known 
as the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association of the 
United States. 

ARTICLE II. 

Object. 

The object of the Association is to procure money, and to 
cause to be erected, and forever cared for, a monument at Fort 
Greene Park, in the Borough of Brooklyn, in the city and State 
of New York, which may appropriately commemorate the 
heroism and the patriotism of those brave men who died from 
privations and disease on the prison ships in the Wallabout Bay 
during the war of the Revolution. 

ARTICLE III. 

Officers. 

The officers of this Association shall consist of a President, 
two Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, Secretary, and a Board of 
Trustees. 



ARTICLE IV. 

Trustees. 

The Board of Trustees shall consist of nine members who, 
with the other officers, shall be elected at the first meeting of 
this Association, or at an adjourned meeting to which said first 
meeting may be adjourned. 

65 



06 PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 

ARTICLE V. 

Classification. 

The said Trustees shall classify themselves into three classes 
of three each by lot, the first class to hold office for one year, 
the second class for two years, and the third class for three 
years, and each class shall hold office until their successors are 
elected and qualified. 

ARTICLE VI. 

Term of Office. 

All other officers shall hold office for one year and until their 
successors are elected and qualified. 

ARTICLE Vn. 

Election. 

An annual election shall be held on the fourth Thursday of 
March in each year after the year eighteen hundred and ninety- 
eight, at which time shall be chosen three Trustees, to serve 
for three years; and a President, Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, 
and Secretary, to serve for the ensuing year. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

Vacancies. - 

Should any vacancy occur in the Board of Trustees or other 
office from death or otherwise, the Board of Trustees may fill 
such vacancy until the next annual election thereafter, and 
until a successor has been elected and qualified. 

ARTICLE IX. 

Advisory Board. 

This Association may, by its By-Laws to be hereafter duly 
enacted, provide for an Advisory Board, and for auxiliary boards 
through which to extend and enlarge its work, and may provide 
for and appoint all such committees as may seem useful in the 
conduct of its affairs. 

ARTICLE X. 

Oflace. 
The principal place of business of this Association shall be 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 07 

in the Borough of Brooklyn, in the County of Kings, in the State 
of New York. 

ARTICLE XL 

Membership. 

Any person of good moral character may become a member 
of this Society upon the payment of one dollar to the Treasurer, 
and sending name to the Secretary. 

ARTICLE XII. 

Counsel. 

There may be chosen by the Board of Trustees a Counsel 
and Assistant Counsel, who shall be men learned in the law 
and of eminent patriotism, willing to serve the Association, as 
shall all other officers, without compensation. 



B y- Laws 

OF THE 

Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Association 

Of the United States 

OFFICERS. 

The officers of the Association shall be a President, two Vice- 
Presidents, Treasurer, and Secretary. 

PRESIDENT. 

It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meet- 
ings of the Association and Executive Committee, to sign all 
certificates and legal instruments in behalf of the Association, 
and acknowledge and deliver the same. 

To call special meetings of the Executive Committee and 
Advisory Board, and shall do so when thereunto required by 
five (5) Trustees in writing. 



68 PRISON SHIP martyrs' monument 

VICE-PRESIDENTS. 

It shall be the duty of the A'ice-Presidents to assist the 
President in his or her duties; and act in his or her place in 
his or her absence. 

TREASURER. 

It shall be the duty of the Treasurers to collect all dues, debts, 
and subscriptions not otherwise collected; to deposit all moneys 
in the name of the Association in a bank or other moneyed 
institution approved by the Executive Committee; to keep a 
detailed account of receipts and expenditures; to send receipts 
to the respective collectors and others for all moneys received 
from them, and to pay all bills after they have been approved 
by the Executive Committee. He or she shall also keep a 
record of property belonging to the Association. 



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 

There shall be an Executive Committee, composed of the 
officers of the Association, the chairmen of the several com- 
mittees, and three to be elected by the Board. 

ORDER OF BUSINESS. 

1. Reading of Minutes of the previous meeting. 

2. Communications. 

3. Reports of Officers. 

4. Reports of Committees. 

5. Motions and Resolutions. 

6. Miscellaneous Business. 



AMENDMENTS. 

These By-Laws may be altered or amended without notice 
at any adjourned meeting of this annual meeting of 1899, and 
thereafter at any regular or called meeting, ten days' notice of 
the proposed change having been given by mail to the Trustees 
at their last known places of residence. 



Members of the Society 



Alexander, Mrs. Eliza 
Andrews, Mrs. G. B. 
Andrews, Miss J. K. 
Averill, Miss M. J. 
Allen, Mrs. E. B. 
Abbott, Mr. Wm. 
Allen, Van F. Beatrice 
Barnes, Gen. A. C. 
Brower, Geo. V. 
Birdsall, Ernest W. 
Birdsall, Mrs. E. W. 
Beam, Henry 
Beam, Mrs. Henry 
Burr, Miss Lottie 
Burr, Miss Edith 
Bulkley, Mrs. Henry S. 
Belden, Mrs. Frederick 
Bliss, Mrs. Amanda 
Burke, Mrs. Wm. C. 
Beecher, Mrs. H. B. 
Beecher, Col. W. C 
Beecher, Mrs. W. C. 
Brush, Dr. Geo. W. 
Brush, Mrs. Geo. W. 
Baird, Mrs. Wm. S. 
Barman, Adolph H. 
Boody, Hon. David A. 
Boody. Mrs. D. A. 
Blanchard, Mrs. J. A. 
Brookfield, Mrs. Wm. 
Bush Brown, Mrs. H. K. 
Boorman, Mr. S. H. 
Boorman, Mrs. 
Brown, James R. 
Burrows, W. A. 
Beadle, Mrs. A. R. 
Bitter, Mr. Karl 
Bazing, G. W. 
Coffm, Mrs. Sturgis 
Cogswell, Mrs. W. S. 



Cheeseborough, Miss L. A. 
Clapp, Mrs. Dwight L. 
Clark, Rev. L. M. 
Cowenhoven, Miss Kate 
Chapman, Col. Henry 
Chapman, Mrs. Henry 
Corey, Mrs. Geo. H. 
Christy, Howard C. 
Grossman, J. H. 
Grossman, Mrs. J. H. 
Cummings, Amos J. 
Cummings, Mrs. A. J. 
Clarke, Mrs. Mary S. 
Curtis, Gen. N. M. 
Conant, Mrs. Ella M. 
Colton, Mrs. Ellen M. 
Clarke, Mrs. W. T. 
Clement, Mrs. D. N. 
Conover, Mrs. W. A. 
Case, Miss M. A. 
De Wolf, John 
Day, Mrs. Augustus P. 
Duryea, Mrs. S. B. 
Davenport, Hon. Wm. B. 
Darrow, Mrs. C. L. 
Davidson, Mrs. R. J. 
Douglas, J. M. Jr. 
Dodge, Mrs. H. A. 
Diefendorf, Mrs. J. J. 
Dontrick, Mr. J. W. 
Dontrick, Mrs. J. W. 
Darwin, Mrs. Charles C 
Dean, Miss Alice B. 
Draper, Mrs. J. S. 
Dring, Carrie C. 
Earle, Henry 
Earle, Mrs. Henry 
Emery, Jos. H. 
Puree, S. R. 
Puree, Mrs. S. R. 



69 



70 



PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT 



Puree, Miss Annie D. 
Foote, Mrs. Nancy M. 
Fairbanks, Mrs. C. W. 
Foye. J. E. 

Foster, Mrs. Martha W. 
Fairbanks, Hon. C. W. 
Frazer, Miss Susan C. 
Gray, Percy R. 
Gray, Mrs. Percy R. 
Giran, Mrs. J. P. 
Giles, Mr. John C. 
Gilston, Miss M. A. 
Griswold, Hon. S. M. 
Greene, Mr. R. H. 
Greene, Mrs. R. H. 
Greene, Mr. Wm. V. 
Gitchell, Mrs. Frank H. 
Gambert, Mrs. Alonzo 
Granger. Mrs. John C. 
Gardner, Mr. Joe 
Giles, Mr. S. W. 
Howard, Mr. E. S. 
Howard, Mrs. E. S. 
Howe, Mrs. James R. 
Hinman, Edward 
Hoyt, Charles A. 
Hoyt. C. A. 
Haley, Mrs. Albert 
Haley, Miss Luc\- 
Holbrook, Mrs. 
Hanwa\-, Mr. and Mrs. John 
Howard, Frank W. 
Hillis, Dr. N. D. 
Hillis, Mrs. N. D. 
Humming, Mrs. J. A. 
Hopkins, L. C. 
Hopkins, Mrs. Franklin 
Holder, Mr. Wm. D. 
Holder, Mrs. Wm. D. 
Hoe, Mrs. Robert 
Helmuth. Mrs. Wm. S. 
Higgins, Mr. F. W. 
Hopkins, Mrs. Luther 
Hale, Mrs. Joseph C. 
Howard, Mrs. E. S. W. 
Howard, Miss Sarah S. 
Hetzel, Miss Susan R. 
Hull, Mr, Washington 



Hull, Mrs. Washington 
Hull, Carl L. 
Hull, Washington, Jr. 
Hull, Miss Irene 
Hall, E. Hagaman 
Hoguet, Mrs. Ruth H. 
Hart, W. O. 
Hanna, Mrs. Bessie B. 
Hanna, Mrs. I. H. 
Ibelhauser, Henry 
Iddings, Mrs. C. F. 
Johnson, Edward 
Joscelyn, Mrs. Alice L. 
Jaegers, Albert 
Johnson, Mrs. Emma C. 
Johnson, Miss F. E. 
Jacobs. Mrs. Andrew 
King, Gen. Horatio C. 
King. Mrs. H. C. 
Kennedy, Hon. E. R. 
Kennedy, Mrs. E. R. , 
Kennedy, Mr. Sidney 
Kennedy, Miss Susan R. 
Kennedy, Leonard 
Kinney, Mrs. Sara L. 
Kempton, Mrs. Edwin 
Knowlton. Mrs. A. C. 
Lupton, Mr. Frank M. 
Lupton. Mrs. Frank M. 
Lothrop, Mrs. Daniel 
Leeming, Mr. Woodruff. 
Leeming. Mrs. Woodruff 
Lauterbach. Mrs. Edw^ard 
Long, Hon. John D. 
Long, Mrs. John D. 
Langstaff. Edward 
Leigh. Mrs. Josephine 
Lamb. Charles R. 
Lippitt, Mrs. Charles W. 
L\ons, Mrs. Thos. B. 
Logan, Walter S. 
Litchfield, Mr. E. B. 
Mills. Mrs. Wm. L. 
McLane. Mrs. Donald 
Maynard. Wm. L. 
Mallory. Mrs. Henry R. 
Martin. Mrs. A. F. 
Mungriondo, P. De M. 



PRISON SHIP martyrs' MONUMENT 



7J 



Mungriondo, Mrs. P. de M. 

McKay, Mrs. Nathaniel 

Meeker, Mrs. M. L. 

Minner, Mrs. Edwin 

McBiair, Julia T. E. 

Murray, W. W. 

McCafrey, W. J. 

Mack. W. B. 

Mead, Mrs. E. M. 

Martin, Mrs. Myra B. 

Mill, Mrs. Mary J. C. 

Maynard, Mr. La I. A. 

Middleton, Mrs. John 

Noble, Mrs. S. K. 

Nicolson, John Jr. 

Nixon, C. A. 

Nesmith, Mrs. B. I. 

Neal, Miss Alice E. 

Powell, Mr. Henry A. 

Powell, Mrs. Henry A. 

Pratt, Mrs. H. L. 

Piatt, Mary E. 

Peters, Mr. Malcolm 

Peters, Mrs. Malcolm 

Price, Miss Hattie 

Perry, Mrs. A. J. 

Piatt, Hon. Orville 

Piatt, Mrs. Orville 
Pope. Mrs. J. E. 
Pierce, Mrs. Faye 
Pike, Mrs. Elizabeth S. 
Phelps, Mrs. Elizabeth S. 
Proctor, Mrs. W. L. 
Pinney, Mr. Charles H. 
Pinney, Mrs. Charles H. 
Pope, John Barston 
Pealer, Mrs. R. M. G. 
Pierce, Mrs. T. P. 
Pinney, R. W., M.D. 
Quinlan, Mrs. L. G. 
Ouarles, Mrs. Jos. V. 
Roe, Gen. and Mrs. Chas. F. 
Ransom, Mrs. G. R. 
Raymond, Alfred D. 
Roebling, Mrs. Washington 
Remsen, Miss 
Ruckstuhl, Mr. F. W. 
Reid, Mrs. Adam 



Reddington, Thomas 
Rice, Mrs. Francis D. 
Richards, Mrs. W. A. 
Reiffert, Miss L. M. 
Read, Mrs. Henry 
Scrimgeour, Mrs. J. C. 
Swan, Mrs. Alden S. 
Sherman, Miss Sarah L. 
Sterling, Miss A. W. 
Street, Mrs. George W. 
Snow, Mrs. Anna B. 
Silver, Mrs. C. A. 
Suydam, Mrs. John 
Stebbins, Mrs. George C. 
Slade, Mrs. Wm. G. 
Snow, Mr. H. S. 
Snow, Miss Marion 
Shipman, Stephen Vaughan 
Stoughton, C. W. 
Stoughton, A. A. 
Steele, Mrs. Hiram R. 
Selden, Miss Minnie 
Simpson, Mrs. Harriet P. 
Sacher, Mme. Siegfried 
Starr, Mrs. H. B. 
Skinner, A. Homer 
Slade, George W. 
Sprague, Mrs. J. A. 
Stevens, Mrs. Frank S. 
Titcomb, Mrs. V. C. 
Titcomb, John A. 
Titcomb, C. A. 
Titcomb, H. A. 
Terry, Mrs. C. H. 
Thayer, Mrs. J. V. B. 
Tenslow, Mrs. Friedrich 
Tilton, Mr. Ed. Lippencott 
Underwood, Mrs. J. P. 
Underhill, Robert 
Van Anden, Mrs. Wm. 
Van Winkle, Mrs. Abbie 
Van Iderstine 
Van Nostrand, G. E. 
Vanderpool, Miss Mary 
Vanderbilt, Mrs. G. L. 
Verplanck, K. P. W. 
Van Anden, Miss B. F. 
White, Hon. S. V. 



72 PRISON SHIP MARTYRS MONUMENT 

White, Mrs. S. V. * White, Clarence M. 

Walworth, Mrs. Ellen Waterbury, Mr. J. L. 

Wood, Mr. Wm. C. Waterbury, Mrs. J. L. 

Wood, Mrs. Wm. C. Warren, Mrs. Tracy B. 

Wood, Mr. R. W. C. Weed, Mrs. Walter H. 

Walton, Miss F. H. Woodford, Hon. S. L. 

Walton, Mrs. Woodford, Mrs. S. L. 

Wellman, Mrs. T. B. Woodford, Miss S. 

Williams, Mrs. J. H. Watkins, Mr. P. L. 

Williams, Mr. J. H. Western, Ben R. 

Washington, Miss Eugenia Young, Mrs. Joseph. 
Walton, Miss Josephine 



C ON TE N TS 



DEDICATION, 1908. 

Poem. Thomas Walsh 5 

Oration. Hon. William H. Taft 9 

Address. Hon. Luke E. Wright 18 

Unveiling. Esther King Norton 18 

Address. Hon. Charles E. Hughes 19 

Address. Hon. P. F. McGowan 20 

Address. Hon. Daniel F. Cohalan 22 

Response. Hon. Michael J. Kennedy 22 

Parade 23 

CORNER-STONE LAYING, 1907. 

Prayer. Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis 28 

Remarks. Hon. S. V. White 29 

Remarks. Gen. F. D. Grant 31 

Address. Hon. Charles E. Hughes 31 

Prayer. Rev. E. W. McCarthy 34 

OBSEQUIES, 1900. 

Prayer. Rev. N. D. Hillis 41 

Remarks. Rear-Admiral Philip 43 

Address. Hon. John D. Long 44 

Address. Gen. S. L. Woodford 47 

Address. Hon. Amos J. Cummings.. 49 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Fox'^ Story of the Jerse>' 54 

Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument by the Secretary. 

Mrs. Horatio C. King 58 

Society of Old Brooklynites 63 

Officers of the Association 64 

Articles of Association 65 

By-Laws of the Association 67 

Members of the Society 69 



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